Research Projects - engCETL - Engineering Centre for Excellence


	Research Projects The engCETL is involved in a number of research activities ranging from entire research projects (both fully and partly undertaken by engCETL staff) to providing support mechanisms for academic and non-teaching staff to aid in enhancements to teaching and learning.

Awarding Credit for MEng Sandwich Placement Learning

Drawing on the results of a literature, case studies from Loughborough University and other institutions and stakeholder perceptions, this project investigated the potential for awarding credit for work-based learning through sandwich placement and explores the implications of this for the MEng degree at Loughborough University. The purpose of this exercise was to enable Loughborough University engineering departments to take a proactive response to Bologna and explore potential strategies for compatibility.

The findings indicated that although several UK Engineering Departments offer industrial placements as part of MEng programmes, few award credits. In lieu of awarding credit, some Universities, Loughborough award a Diploma of Industrial Studies (DIS).

The students who responded to the questionnaire administered as part of the research highlighted the importance of employment mobility (i.e. the ease with which their degree will be recognised by employers abroad) and cited several benefits of awarding credit for the industrial placement. Industrial and academic representatives who participated in an engCETL advisory board discussion raised several useful points about the level of industry involvement in assessment and how the University could support training for industrial tutors.

Key conclusions of the report indicate that:

Work-based learning can be assessed in a number of ways.
Consistency in experience and assessment is a key consideration.
The design of the module specifications and assessment for the industrial placement need to be flexible to cope with the variety of placements projects undertaken and the size of the company offering the placement.
Industry involvement in assessment needs to be carefully managed to ensure roles and responsibilities are clear, assessment processes are not too onerous or time consuming and adequate support and training is given.
Provision of a non-placement equivalent module (with equivalent credit) may need to be considered to compensate for loss of, or failure to secure, placement.
It may be possible to assess and award credits for the students first working year of a full-time position – this needs to be investigated further.

Based on the evidence gathered, the report recommends that the University:

Keep up-to-date with the development of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
Monitor Loughborough University's implementation of the Diploma Supplement.
Consider the intended learning outcomes that can be delivered effectively through work placement and how these map on to UK SPEC.
Consider the implications of implementing the steps recommended by Europe Note (E/05/12) and monitor developments.
Conduct a focus group with placement tutors looking at the implications of assessment.
Test the viability of an assessment model proposed as a result of the research with relevant stakeholders (e.g. industrial placement tutors, industrial tutors, students).

WebPA

Web Peer Assessment (WebPA) is an online automated system which facilitates self and peer assessment of group work. Since its original conception in 1998, WebPA has gone through a number of iterations at Loughborough University. In 2004, the WebPA system was made available for use by any Loughborough University department through the Engineering Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (engCETL). In 2006 the engCETL successfully gained funding under the JISC e-Learning Capital Programme to enable further development and roll out the application to other institutions. Led by the Faculty of Engineering at Loughborough University, the project partners include the University of Hull and the Higher Education (HE) Academy Engineering and Physical Sciences Subject Centres.

Project Evaluation
On the 10th October 2007 the project team attended a JISC funded evaluation workshop which was run by Glenaffric LTD a consultancy company that have experience in evaluation of projects. Following this and taking the advice from the workshop a new evaluation plan was drawn up which married the tasks from the workpackages to evaluation activities that need to be carried out in the future.

WebPA events
The WebPA project team have attended the following events:

University of Hull – WebPA introduction and taster session [November 2007]

Loughborough University - Information Science [November 2007]

Workshop on Peer Assessment in Engineering and Physical Sciences [November 2007]

University of Derby WebPA introduction and taster session [February 2008].

Student Survey
As a part of WebPA project, in January 2008, a student survey was carried out with students on the ‘Introduction to Structural Design’ first year module within the Civil and Building Engineering Department at Loughborough University. In short some interesting results recorded were:

Self selecting groups (where students select their own groups) was most popular with random group selecting being the least)
The majority of respondents were comfortable assessing their own and their peers performance.
Nearly a quarter of respondents felt that there was conflict between group members because of the peer assessment element.
Over three quarters agreed that the mark they received reflected their actual contribution to the groupwork

Emotional Intelligence

Collaboration with: Andrew Dainity, Andrew Price, Yiyi Mo – Civil and Building Engineering
Emotional Intelligence Research has been undertaken as part of a Loughborough University Academic Practice Award, which was funded in 2006. The engCETL has helped to support the research in a number of ways including facilitating access in other departments and in helping to disseminate the findings of the research.

Over the last decade, the assessment of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) has become a very topical issue within the management literature. Studies show that managers with high levels of emotional intelligence make better leaders in industry. Despite the acknowledged importance of emotional intelligence on workplace performance, little work has been conducted on the impact of education on EQ development, particularly in the area of courses leading to engineering management careers for which high levels of EQ are crucial to performance. A better understanding of what learning and teaching activities improve EQ in engineering undergraduates would enable the curriculum on engineering programmes to be enhanced to produce graduates that meet the needs of industry more effectively. The research project aims to develop a model of practice for emotional intelligence enhancement in engineering undergraduates and to disseminate this, through the engCETL, to the departments within the Faculty of Engineering and to Design and Technology and the Department of Materials, where relevant. Although on going, the research has already produced a number of outputs.

To learn more about Loughborough University’s Academic Practice Awards and for a more detailed overview of the project please see the Professional Development website.

An engCETL leaflet is available as an overview for the project and further details about this research are also available on the engCETL website.

Related work previously undertaken by the authors is also available.

Research into the Use of Design Projects in the Engineering Curriculum at Loughborough University

The teaching of design and groupwork is one of the strengths of Loughborough’s engineering-related teaching and this study seeks to document and recognise the excellent practices that are currently occurring.

The initial research questions framing the work are:

What role do design projects have in the curriculum?
How do design projects involve industry in the curriculum?
What approach to teaching is used by lecturers using design projects?

The questions relate to engCETL aims:

To provide evidence of practice in claimed areas of excellence,
To show the relationship to industry involvement in the curriculum and capture processes whereby industry is involved
To capture examples of good, transferable practice.

The overall aim is to produce a comparative analysis of the use of design projects, identify good practice, provide examples of new or different practice for other departments (spot any gaps and commonalities). The comparative analysis will provide opportunities for conversations and work on transferring practice.

Associate Advisor for Associate Teaching Route

Caroline Lowery from the engCETL undertakes a role as an Associate Advisor for the Associate Teaching Route (Associate Pathway) operated by Professional Development. The role involves providing guidance, support, and ideas to staff engaged on the pathway whilst monitoring progress against the pathway programme. The Associate Pathway complements the New Lecturers Pathway to develop continuing professional development (CPD) for a wide range of staff keen to develop their teaching expertise and/or learning support role through a combination of theory and practice. The pathway is accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and aligns to the UK Professional Standards Framework. Further details about either pathway can be found on Loughborough University’s Professional Development website.

Student Experiences of Work Placements

Collaboration with: Abigail Powell (Social Sciences)
Abigail Powell is a Social Science researcher who has worked on a ESRC (RES-000-23-0426) funded research project with Professor Barbara Bagilhole in Social Sciences and Dr Andrew Dainty in Civil Engineering, exploring women engineering students’ workplace experiences (view a poster outlining research findings ). The study aimed to develop an understanding of the influence of women engineers’ earliest encounters with engineering workplaces on their future career intentions. Workplace experiences were examined in the form of the year-long industrial placement taken in higher education (HE), as this usually represents women’s first major contact with the engineering industry. The industrial placement also represents a key transitional stage in each student’s process of becoming an engineering professional (or not).

Abigail worked for the engCETL for six months investigating how the ESRC research findings can be extended to male students, for example, examining whether men as well as women want a more practical and relevant engineering curriculum and how HE can help prepare students for industrial placements and employment.