scholarly journals IMPLEMENTING COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT IN A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Frank ◽  
Simon Bailey ◽  
Aphra Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
First Year ◽  
Traditional Grading ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Design And Practice ◽  
Multiple Assessment ◽  
Competency Based Assessment

Competency-based assessment (CBA) is increasingly of interest in higher education, particularly in the professions. This assessment approach requires that students demonstrate satisfactory performance in specified measurable outcomes for progression, rather than meeting a particular overall average in a range of assessments. The paper describes the implementation of CBA in a first year engineering design and practice course. Each competency was linked to multiple assessment points to allow multiple opportunities to meet the competency without requiring the teaching staff to regrade assignments that did not meet expectations. The structure was designed to use no new additional course personnel. Based on this work the team recommends using past grades and learning outcome data the likely consequences of applying CBA to course assessment schemes, running CBA in parallel witha traditional grading scheme, and planning for flexibility in the grading scheme. Applying CBA to authentic activities was much more complex than for individual tests.

scholarly journals Challenge-based and Competency-based Assessments in an Undergraduate Programming Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (13) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Gaganpreet Sidhu ◽  
Seshasai Srinivasan ◽  
Nasim Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
The Other ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
First Year ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Functional Prototype ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
Competency Based Assessment

In this work, we investigate an optimal assessment strategy to measure student learning in the first-year undergraduate engineering course at X-Department at X University. Specifically, we evaluate and compare challenge-based and competency-based assessment strategies. In the challenge-based approach, the students are required to design a C++-based application that meet the required design objectives. The competency-based assessment involves assessing learning by asking a variety of pointed questions pertaining to a single or a small group of concepts. After studying the performance of 207 students, we found that in the challenge-based assessment, due to the complex nature of the questions that assess numerous concepts simultaneously, students who are not very thorough with even one or two concepts fared very poorly since they were unable to finish the challenge and present a functional prototype of the program. On the other hand, the competency-based assessment allowed for a more balanced approach in which the students’ learning was reflected more accurately by their performance in the various assessments.

scholarly journals Students’ competencies discovery and assessment using learning analytics and semantic web

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 77-97
Author(s):  
Khaled Halimi ◽  
Hassina Seridi-Bouchelaghem
Keyword(s):  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Technical Vision ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Method Of Assessment ◽  
Competency Based Assessment

Traditional content-based assessment systems, which depend on the score as a key criterion for students’ evaluation, have proven to have many drawbacks, especially with the development of learning methods in recent years. Based on these developments, there is a need to adopt new assessment methods to assess the actual skills of students in the digital age. Therefore, the competency-based assessment approach is adopted in this paper to address the subject of students’ competency modelling and discovery in technology-enhanced learning systems. This method of assessment is perfectly suited to modern teaching trends. The authors proposed an approach of assessment semantic analytics to be used for discovering and assessing students’ competencies. This study notes that, all knowledge about students and their competencies has been modelled by semantic representations. Student’s models have been subjected to a set of learning analytics approaches to analyse data generated by students’ activities in order to discover their explicit and latent competencies hidden behind their activities. This experimental study indicates that the competency-based assessment approach is efficient and expected to show significant advantages in evaluating students’ competencies. Implications for practice or policy: Students become able to organise their gains, then integrate and employ them in solving life's problems. Educators get to know more about the extent to which the objectives of their educational process are achieved by evaluating the intellectual, cultural, knowledge, and skilful assets that the learners obtain. Educational policymakers can have a pedagogical and technical vision to move from the culture of content-based evaluations to a competency-based assessment.

scholarly journals The Professional Spine: Creation of a Four-year Engineering Design and Practice Sequence

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Frank ◽  
David Strong ◽  
Rick Sellens
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
First Year ◽  
Problem Analysis ◽  
Assessment And Evaluation ◽  
Practice Sequence ◽  
Design And Practice ◽  
First Time ◽  
Academic Year

This paper discusses the development of a four-year Engineering Design and Practice Sequence (EDPS) of project-based courses at Queen’s University. The four-year sequence is a core requirement for all engineering students, and will develop competence in design process methods and tools, problem analysis, creativity, economics and entrepreneurship, engineering communications, professionalism, and ethics. The EDPS was designed to meet requirements of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board graduate attributes , which addresses requirements of the Washington Accord. They also target applicable elements of the CDIO syllabus. The EDPS is being delivered to first year engineering students for the first time in the 2010-2011 academic year and will continue rolling out over the next three years. The paper discusses the process involved in creating the sequence, the course objectives and delivery for each year of the program, and proposed assessment and evaluation methods. The sequence will also be compared to previously published engineering design and practice sequences. The outcomes of the first year, including student feedback and attribute assessment, will also be discussed. Upper year students who will not experience the engineering design and practice sequence are being assessed on their understanding of design methods to provide baseline data for comparison with students who progress through the sequence in future years.This paper was also published in the ASEE 2011 Annual General Conference with joint permission of ASEE and CEEA.

scholarly journals A COMPETENCY-BASED, STUDENT-CENTERED ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Johnston ◽  
D. J. Caswell ◽  
D. M. Douglas ◽  
M. J. Eggermont
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Work ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The University

The new first-year engineering design and communications course at the University of Calgary has adopted a competency-based, student-centered model for assessing learning. Satisfactory performance in this course requires mastery of core competencies in four categories: ability to function as a member of a team, ability to contribute effectively to product or process design, ability to communicate effectively using the written word, ability to communicate effectively through the medium of drawing. Every assignment in the course is aimed at evaluating one (or more) of the core competencies from these categories. Student work is assessed as Excellent, Good, or Requires Additional Work. Because our focus is on competency, we permit students to redo any of their work to achieve a better assessment. Students must achieve the minimum of a Good on every assignment to have established competency and pass the course. Students can also redo assignments to move from a Good to Excellent assessment. Students compile term work into portfolios. The portfolios illustrate the progression of learning to both instructors and students. Students also use the portfolio to highlight their design and communication abilities to future employers. The new competency-based approach used at the University of Calgary is more effective than traditional assessment models because it requires students to learn from one another and to reflect on their learning. Students receive feedback by following a four-step process: 1) Comparison to posted examples of student work, 2) Discussion with other students, 3) Generation of a written self-assessment, 4) Feedback on self-assessment by instructors. This assessment approach reinforces the skills needed for engineering design.

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