Improving Learning in First‐Year Engineering Courses through Interdisciplinary Collaborative Assessment |
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| Authors: | Donna M Qualters Thomas C Sheahan Emanuel J Mason David S Navick Matthew Dixon |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Center for Teaching Excellence Suffolk University;2. Donna M. Qualters, Ph.D. is the director of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and associate professor of Education and Human Services at Suffolk University. She previously served as director of the Center for Effective University Teaching and associate professor of Education at Northeastern University (CEUT). The teaching center oversees faculty development and student assessment activities. Her research focuses on creating educational change and she has published in the area of assessment, pedagogy, teacher identity/change, experiential education and reflective practice. She has been recognized by the Professional Organization and Development Network in Higher Education (POD) for her innovative faculty development activities including the book Chalk Talk. Dr. Qualters is a speaker on higher education teaching and learning.;3. College of Engineering Northeastern University;4. Thomas C. Sheahan, Sc.D., P.E. is a professor and acting chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University. He was a member of the GE Master Teachers Team from 1999–2003, developing initiatives to improve teaching and learning in first‐year engineering (FYE) courses. These activities included his participation on the Chalk Talk editorial board and development of Freshman Central, a resource and connection web site for incoming FYE students. He went on to lead the follow‐on grant that developed the current mastery exam. He has published widely in his technical area of geotechnical engineering, and has presented work on engineering education and education technology. Dr. Sheahan is the co‐editor of the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, and serves on a number of national committees in his technical area.;5. Bouve College of Health Sciences Northeastern University;6. Emanuel J. Mason, Ed.D. is a professor in the Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology at Northeastern University. Dr. Mason has authored texts on research methodology and computing in schools, and was co‐editor of a series on recruiting and retaining minorities for education. He has also published and presented numerous research papers on reasoning, assessment, and school psychology‐related issues. His current research focuses on teaching science and technology, and developmental cognition.;7. David S. Navick, Ph.D. is the associate dean for Enrollment and Information Services at Northeastern University's College of Engineering. He applies the modeling and statistical analysis methods from his transportation engineering background to the areas of engineering student recruitment and assessment. Dr. Navick was the first of now five Northeastern Gateway faculty members who specialize in teaching first‐year engineering students. He was a member of the GE Master Teachers and the follow‐on grant teams;8. his focus was developing the Freshman Central web site and applying item response theory to the mastery exam.;9. Matthew Dixon is a civil engineer with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Watertown, MA. He was previously a graduate assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Northeastern University's College of Engineering. |
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| Abstract: | This paper describes a feedback process that assessed first‐year engineering student learning using a mastery exam. The results were used to improve learning and teaching in first‐year courses. To design the initial exam, basic knowledge and concepts were identified by instructors from each of the host departments (Chemistry, Math, Physics and Computer Science). In 2004, the 45‐item exam was administered to 191 second‐year engineering students, and in September 2005, the revised exam was administered to the next class of second‐year engineering students. The exam was analyzed using Item Response Theory (IRT) to determine student abilities in each subject area tested. Between exam administrations, workshops were conducted with the four department instructor groups to present exam results and discuss teaching issues. The exam provided a learning assessment mechanism that can be used to engage faculty in science, mathematics, and engineering in productive linkages for continual improvement to curriculum. |
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| Keywords: | assessment faculty development first‐year students |
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