Sasha Nikolic

Decoding Student Satisfaction: How to Manage and Improve the Laboratory Experience

The laboratory plays an important role in teaching engineering skills. An Electrical Engineering department at an Australian University implemented a reform to monitor and improve student satisfaction with the teaching laboratories. A Laboratory Manager was employed to oversee the quality of 27 courses containing instructional laboratories. Student satisfaction surveys were carried out on all relevant laboratories every year, and the data were used for continuous improvement. This paper will investigate the reforms that were implemented and outline a number of the improvements made. It also examines the programs overall impact on: (1) overall satisfaction; (2) laboratory notes; (3) learning experiences; (4) computer facilities; (5) engineering equipment; and (6) condition of the laboratory. Student satisfaction with the laboratories increased by 32% between 2007 and 2013. The results show that the laboratory notes (activity and clarity) and the quality of the equipment used are among the most influential factors on student satisfaction. In particular, it is important to have notes or resources that explain in some detail how to use and troubleshoot equipment and software used in the laboratory.

Using online and multimedia resources to enhance the student learning experience in a telecommunications laboratory within an Australian University

ABSTRACT A laboratory component of an undergraduate telecommunications course consistently scored poorly for student learning experience on student surveys at an Australian university. Consultation with experienced academic staff revealed the need to modify the teaching resources available for the laboratory to include web-based multimedia and interactive resources. This new material was developed and made available to students and teaching staff in early 2011 via an Australian university e-learning package which was used to deliver the subject. The students and demonstrators were then encouraged to use this new resource to prepare for the three hour laboratory sessions. Surveys of students who took this laboratory in previous years were then compared to surveys of students using the latest version of the telecommunications laboratory in 2011 and 2012. The demonstrators themselves were also asked to provide feedback on their impressions of student learning. The comments from the laboratory demonstrators, feedback from the students, and assessment results indicate that the new online teaching material for both laboratory teaching staff and students has significantly improved the student learning experience. That this occurred two years in a row indicates that this improvement has ongoing benefits, irrespective of the teaching staff involved with the subject. The lessons learned can be applied to other similar learning environments.

Training laboratory: Using online resources to enhance the laboratory learning experience

Technology has enabled students to search and utilize information from a diverse range of sources. One mechanism that students turn to for additional resources is the internet. This paper explores student interaction with an internet resource, called the Training Laboratory. This resource has multiple uses, including: 1) the training of laboratory teaching assistants; 2) providing students an opportunity to develop pre-requisite laboratory skills; 3) reduce the workload of developing resources when designing laboratory notes; 4) reduce the duplication of learning fundamental laboratory skills in multiple subjects; 5) provide a means to share resources to satellite campuses; and, 6) provide a teaching tool to assist laboratory demonstrators. Feedback from students and staff, three years after implementation, indicate that this is an effective resource that has enhanced learning in the laboratory.

Formative assessment to develop oral communication competency using YouTube: self- and peer assessment in engineering

ABSTRACT Obtaining oral communication competency is an important skill for engineering students to prepare them for interacting and working in any professional setting. For engineers, it is also important to be able to present technical information to non-technical audiences. To ensure oral competency, a non-graded formative assessment approach using video with self- and peer assessment was introduced into a final-year engineering thesis course. A low workload approach was used due to growing student numbers and higher pressures on academic staff. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the differences between traditional delivery, self-assessment and combined self-assessment with peer feedback. The study found that the formative models were seen by students to help develop their presentation skills. However, the results showed no significant improvement compared to the traditional method. This could be due to previous presentation practice within the degree or more probable, the lack of incentive for weaker students to engage and improve due to the ungraded nature of the activity.

Maximising resource allocation in the teaching laboratory: understanding student evaluations of teaching assistants in a team-based teaching format

ABSTRACT Minimal research papers have investigated the use of student evaluations on the laboratory, a learning medium usually run by teaching assistants with little control of the content, delivery and equipment. Finding the right mix of teaching assistants for the laboratory can be an onerous task due to the many skills required including theoretical and practical know-how, troubleshooting, safety and class management. Using larger classes with multiple teaching assistants, a team-based teaching (TBT) format may be advantageous. A rigorous three-year study across twenty-five courses over repetitive laboratory classes is analysed using a multi-level statistical model considering students, laboratory classes and courses. The study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the TBT format, and quantify the influence each demonstrator has on the laboratory experience. The study found that TBT is effective and the lead demonstrator most influential, influencing up to 55% of the laboratory experience evaluation.

Addressing misconceptions about engineering through student-industry interaction in a video-augmented 3D immersive virtual world

A key goal of engineering education is to ensure students are adequately prepared to enter professional practice. Unfortunately, students have been found to bring to university significant misconceptions about the types of work engineers perform, which can have an adverse impact on their readiness to fully appreciate and benefit from course activities. This paper presents a case study of how iSee, a collaborative online platform that allows for video conferencing within a three-dimensional immersive virtual world, was used to host a careers fair event in which students learned about the engineering profession and about the various engineering majors available to them by networking and interacting with alumni and faculty. The planning and execution of the event are described, along with the pedagogical, technological, and logistical considerations and design decisions that were made. Preliminary results suggest the activity, despite being low cost, was effective at generating productive dialogue between participants that focused on what students could expect upon graduating in terms of employment prospects, as well as the academic pathways and other learning opportunities they needed to pursue to realize their goals.

Supporting the conceptualization of student innovation projects through peer and expert feedback on virtual pitches

This activity involves students pitching early concepts for self-determined innovation projects they wish to undertake to an audience of peers and experts attending a live event in a virtual space. The students practice articulating their ideas while eliciting feedback and constructive criticism to help them further develop and refine those ideas, in preparation for formal face-to-face presentations they have to deliver to faculty in much the same way startup entrepreneurs do when putting forward a business proposal to a group of potential investors. The approach is intended to provide students with guidance and support in defining a clear vision and scope for their projects at the initiation phase, while still affording them freedom and autonomy in deciding what they ultimately wish to pursue. The authors originally developed the activity for an engineering design course, in which they brought together students and industry guests in a cyber “trade fair” hosted on a video-augmented three-dimensional virtual world platform called iSee; however, the activity may be adapted for use in a range of other contexts and disciplines, and to incorporate various types of online events based on synchronous collaborative technologies of the educator’s and/or students’ choosing.

Facilitating student and staff engagement across multiple offshore campuses for transnational education using an immersive video augmented learning platform

Opportunities in transnational education have been growing across the higher education sector. The incentive for institutions to explore opening offshore satellite campuses includes access to more students and building the institutions reputation across the globe. A number of risks are also associated with transnational education, especially in terms of quality. It is important that students across all campuses receive the same high standard of education. That is, students at offshore campuses should not be placed at a disadvantage compared to students studying at the institutions main campus. This paper explores the possibility of providing students from offshore campuses better access to teaching staff from the institutions main campus. An immersive video augmented platform called iSee is used to simultaneously connect students from Singapore and Malaysia with teaching staff in Wollongong. The students undertook an exam revision session using video avatars in a virtual lecture theatre. The pilot showcased the opportunities of implementing this technology to improve student engagement and reduce academic workload. It also reinforced the need for more research in the transnational education field to ensure the same graduate outcomes are being achieved across campuses.

Special session: Exploring learning opportunities in engineering education using 2D, 3D and immersive video augmented online technologies

The goal of this session is to provide engineering educators an opportunity to compare the strengths and limitations in regards to 2D, 3D and immersive video augmented collaborative online learning environments. Participants will also gain valuable hands on experience to provide confidence in using such technologies. This session is targeted to those in the engineering education community that have previously explored the use of more traditional 2D online learning environments (such as Skype, Google Hangouts and Adobe Connect) and are interested in learning more about the possibilities provided by 3D collaborative technologies. At completion participants will have gained a range of practical ideas to implement, with a clearer picture of the opportunities and limitations of emerging 3D immersive online learning tools. While such technologies are not new, there is evidence that more can be done to promote increased usage within engineering education, especially for bringing industry into the classroom. This session aims to help inspire and create debate on the value of incorporating such technologies into the engineering classroom.

Teaching programming in common first year engineering: discipline insights applying a flipped learning problem-solving approach

ABSTRACT This paper investigated at the discipline level if flipped learning and engineering focused problem solving could be used to overcome the difficulties associated with programming in a common first year engineering curriculum. Perceived relevance of course material can impact self-efficacy and mindset resulting in lower motivation to learn, effecting achievement. Literature suggests that flipped learning and engineering problem solving can be combined to improve engagement, perceived relevance and achievement. An effective implementation of flipped learning and engineering problem solving would be reflected in student interest and achievement across all disciplines. A common first year engineering course across nine engineering disciplines and a flexible cohort was implemented and analysed across two years with 793 students. Success was measured across four objectives: 1) Appeal across disciplines; 2) Achievement; 3) Future learning impact; and 4) Enrolment in computer engineering. Overall success was found across the four objectives with no major negative impact across the first-year experience, acceptable failure rates with achievement and student experience correlated with perceived discipline relevance, and enrolment success in computer engineering. Further refinement is needed targeted at improving the civil and mining student experience.