Philosophies and pedagogies that shape an integrated engineering programme

Accredited engineering degrees call upon students to develop a wide range of knowledge and skills. These range from technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge, through to transferable skills such as communications, teamwork, business acumen and critical analysis. Through a faculty-wide curriculum development programme we have sought to implement cross-department teaching framework whereby a range of pedagogies are employed to deliver against core philosophies for a new way of teaching aimed at developing students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes while meeting a diverse range of learning outcomes. We argue that is it vital that learning takes place in the context of authentic engineering problems and processes. In this paper, we look at the philosophies, pedagogies and outcomes of an educational-based project which creates a connected curriculum that joins distinct disciplines at key points during the students’ education to provide preparation for, and experience of, professional engineering. It describes the motivation for change and described the implementation and impact of these approaches

Tensin1 expression and function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

open access articleChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) constitutes a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Genome wide association studies have shown significant associations between airflow obstruction or COPD with a non-synonymous SNP in the TNS1 gene, which encodes tensin1. However, the expression, cellular distribution and function of tensin1 in human airway tissue and cells are unknown. We therefore examined these characteristics in tissue and cells from controls and people with COPD or asthma. Airway tissue was immunostained for tensin1. Tensin1 expression in cultured human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) was evaluated using qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. siRNAs were used to downregulate tensin1 expression. Tensin1 expression was increased in the airway smooth muscle and lamina propria in COPD tissue, but not asthma, when compared to controls. Tensin1 was expressed in HASMCs and upregulated by TGFβ1. TGFβ1 and fibronectin increased the localisation of tensin1 to fibrillar adhesions. Tensin1 and α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) were strongly co-localised, and tensin1 depletion in HASMCs attenuated both αSMA expression and contraction of collagen gels. In summary, tensin1 expression is increased in COPD airways, and may promote airway obstruction by enhancing the expression of contractile proteins and their localisation to stress fibres in HASMCs

Fitness for purpose? project-based, collaborative learning in engineering undergraduate education

In response to evolving work practices in engineering (Royal Academy of Engineering 2010) and the ever-changing nature of vocational and professional knowledge (Broad, 2016), attention has rightly turned to the development of innovative pedagogies to facilitate the entry of graduates to the employment market. Project-based Learning (PjBL) is an example of such an innovative pedagogy and has been developed in some HE contexts to provide students with authentic learning experiences which are designed to embed team working and collaboration; problem solving and solution-finding alongside the development of technical knowledge and skills (Mills and Treagust, 2003). Yet despite the introduction of collaborative inquiry-based curricula in engineering, comprehensive understanding of the pedagogical practices that these innovative practices require has not yet emerged (Damşa & Nerland, 2016). At UCL Engineering, PjBL has been an integral feature of the Integrated Engineering Programme (IEP) undergraduate curriculum since 2014. Drawing upon an on-going collaborative Institute of Education/UCL ‘seed corn’ funded project, this paper will present data collected through observation of project-based learning scenarios and discussion with engineering undergraduates in situ. It will identify and discuss the nature of student learning and engagement in project-based learning activities, with particular attention to disciplinary issues and the development of student disciplinary knowledge. In so doing, it will assess whether PjBL is, indeed, ‘fit for purpose’

Highlighting the learning in project-based undergraduate engineering education: pedagogical and methodological considerations

This paper presents a discussion of findings in relation to the pedagogy of Project Based Learning (PjBL) from a collaborative learning and teaching research project at UCL Engineering. It highlights the importance of adopting a) an understanding learning as a social practice in PjBL, and b) developing valid methodological approaches when capturing student learning experiences

The UCL Integrated Engineering Programme

In 2014, the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences introduced the Integrated Engineering Programme – a revision of eight existing degree programmes across a range of engineering disciplines. Centered on a thread of authentic project-based activities, the programme aimed to enhance the students’ understanding of key theoretical concepts and heighten the development of key professional skills. This paper provides an outline of the rationale for the various project-based activities implemented, details their key features and described the impact these activities have had on the students’ development of key skills

Psychometric Evaluation and Design of Patient-Centered Communication Measures for Cancer Care Settings

Objective To evaluate the psychometric properties of questions that assess patient perceptions of patient-provider communication and design measures of patient-centered communication (PCC). Methods Participants (adults with colon or rectal cancer living in North Carolina) completed a survey at 2 to 3 months post-diagnosis. The survey included 87 questions in six PCC Functions: Exchanging Information, Fostering Health Relationships, Making Decisions, Responding to Emotions, Enabling Patient Self-Management, and Managing Uncertainty. For each Function we conducted factor analyses, item response theory modeling, and tests for differential item functioning, and assessed reliability and construct validity. Results Participants included 501 respondents; 46% had a high school education or less. Reliability within each Function ranged from 0.90 to 0.96. The PCC-Ca-36 (36-question survey; reliability=0.94) and PCC-Ca-6 (6-question survey; reliability=0.92) measures differentiated between individuals with poor and good health (i.e., known-groups validity) and were highly correlated with the HINTS communication scale (i.e., convergent validity). Conclusion This study provides theory-grounded PCC measures found to be reliable and valid in colorectal cancer patients in North Carolina. Future work should evaluate measure validity over time and in other cancer populations. Practice implications The PCC-Ca-36 and PCC-Ca-6 measures may be used for surveillance, intervention research, and quality improvement initiatives

Rhythm in the speech of a person with right hemisphere damage: Applying the pairwise variability index

Although several aspects of prosody have been studied in speakers with right hemisphere damage (RHD), rhythm remains largely uninvestigated. This study compares the rhythm of an Australian English speaker with right hemisphere damage (due to a stroke, but with no concomitant dysarthria) to that of a neurologically unimpaired individual. The speakers' rhythm is compared using the pairwise variability index (PVI) which allows for an acoustic characterization of rhythm by comparing the duration of successive vocalic and intervocalic intervals. A sample of speech from a structured interview between a speech and language therapist and each participant was analysed. Previous research has shown that speakers with RHD may have difficulties with intonation production, and therefore it was hypothesized that there may also be rhythmic disturbance. Results show that the neurologically normal control uses a similar rhythm to that reported for British English (there are no previous studies available for Australian English), whilst the speaker with RHD produces speech with a less strongly stress-timed rhythm. This finding was statistically significant for the intervocalic intervals measured (t(8) = 4.7, p < .01), and suggests that some aspects of prosody may be right lateralized for this speaker. The findings are discussed in relation to previous findings of dysprosody in RHD populations, and in relation to syllable-timed speech of people with other neurological conditions

An Intercultural Study in Health Literacy and Adherence among Patients with Diabetes

poster abstractHealth Literacy is believed to play an essential role in the ability of individuals to effectively manage their own health care. A report by the Institute of Medicine acknowledges that 90 million Americans with low literacy probably also have low health literacy, and that even individuals with adequate health literacy face challenges in the complex demands of health care contexts. This poster presents results of a 3-year study of an interdisciplinary project on health literacy and adherence at the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication (ICIC) funded by the Eli Lilly & Co. Foundation. The purpose was to examine multiple dimensions of health literacy, based on patients’ perspectives (van Dulmen et al., 2008), with the goal of creating a new conceptualization and way of assessing health literacy in its broader sense that includes processing and acting on information in order to integrate those findings into interventions to improve health regimen adherence. Taking critical studies into account, we developed a model to identify the most important variables of adherence (Nutbeam, D., 2000; Levin-Zamir, D. and Peterburg, Y., 2001; Von Wagner, C., Steptoe, A., Wolf, M., and Wardle, J., 2008). The data consisted of video-taped interviews with 43 English-speakers and 21 Spanish-speakers, all of whom have diabetes. The interviews involved open-ended questions that elicited information about living with diabetes as well as questions on health beliefs, medication adherence, information sources and uses, literacy level and basic demographic information. These narratives were analyzed using grounded theory methodology of the patients’ own words. The quantitative data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis as well as an ordered probit analysis (Connor, U., et al., 2008, 2009, 2010; Lauten, K., et al., 2009, 2010; Lopez-Yunez, A., et al., 2009; Matthias, M.S. & Goering, E., 2008; Rozycki, W. & Connor, U., 2008; Wolf, M.S., et al, 2007). The model that ICIC has built provides practical interventions for patient-centered care. This poster presents examples of linguistic cues and phrases from the interviews, the results of the intercultural comparisons between which information sources were used in the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking subgroups, and the resultant model. Implications are discussed in terms of enhancing the patient-centered tailoring of health information and communication.