Systems approach to engineering education design

[Abstract]: The design and delivery of effective engineering education to diverse cohorts of adult learners is challenging. The sheer volume and diversity of published literature relating to the scholarship of teaching and learning presents a challenge to educational designers and teaching practitioners alike. A systems approach to design and development, incorporating key principles from the literature, can assist practitioners (particularly those new to teaching) in the effective design and delivery of technical courses. This paper presents a research-based educational lifecycle model to support the design of engineering education. The paper then describes a requirements-driven development methodology that has been applied successfully to the design and delivery of a number of technical courses involving different cohorts of adult learners. The application of the methodology to development of an introductory radar systems course is used as a case study throughout the paper

The development of learning and teaching strategies and technical texts for diverse groups of adult learners

[Abstract]: Designing, developing and delivering effective technical education for diverse groups of adult learners is important for both the learners and the future of the technical discipline. The many nuances associated with adult learners, combined with the challenges associated with exploring technically complex topics, make effective technical education difficult to achieve. An understanding of adult learners and teaching, coupled with a robust development framework can help produce effective teaching strategies and technical texts for diverse groups of adult learners. A literature review focusing on current research regarding adult learners was conducted to investigate some of the nuances of the adult learner. Specifically, the differences between adult learning and child learning were explored which lead to research on the role of experience in learning, the different approaches adult students typically take to learning, and the likely diversity in preferred learning styles within groups of adult learners. The literature review also investigated the role of the teacher in adult education, focusing on the need for learning facilitation in adult education. The desirable characteristics of teachers of adults were also investigated leading to an appreciation of the attitudes, attributes and approaches that teachers can take to enhance the learning experience for adults. A conceptual framework for the development and delivery of adult education courses was proposed and explained. The framework was based on established complex problem solving principles and covered the entire lifecycle of an adult education course from the identification of a need for a course through to its delivery (and revision). The framework was based on a top-down approach to educational design. This was articulated using a VEE diagram that explained how the lifecycle stages (decision, design, development, and delivery) could build upon one another through concepts such as traceability, ongoing verification and feedback. The principles of adult learning and teaching were integrated into the framework via the activities associated with the design, development and delivery of courses. The framework, and the information contained in the literature review, has been applied to the development of three different technical courses for three different groups of adult learners. As a result of the application of the framework and the development of these courses, a number of technical texts has been written and published to support the courses. The adaptability and success of the framework are evidenced by the ongoing and expanded adoption of the courses to support adult education, the publication record being established by the texts, and the positive student and peer review of the adult teaching strategies employed in those courses. It is concluded that the framework and the analyses arising from the literature review have the potential to be of value and interest to other teachers responsible for the design, development and/or delivery of adult education in technical fields

A conceptual framework for the development of engineering courses

The design and delivery of effective engineering education to diverse cohorts of adult learners is challenging. The sheer volume and diversity of published literature relating to the scholarship of teaching and learning presents a challenge to teaching practitioners. A design and development framework that incorporates key principles from the literature can aid practitioners (particularly those new to teaching) in the effective design and delivery of technical courses. This paper presents a research-based framework that has been applied successfully to the design and delivery of a number of technical courses involving different cohorts of adult learners

A Standard Nomenclature for Referencing and Authentication of Pluripotent Stem Cells

Unambiguous cell line authentication is essential to avoid loss of association between data and cells. The risk for loss of references increases with the rapidity that new human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines are generated, exchanged, and implemented. Ideally, a single name should be used as a generally applied reference for each cell line to access and unify cell-related information across publications, cell banks, cell registries, and databases and to ensure scientific reproducibility. We discuss the needs and requirements for such a unique identifier and implement a standard nomenclature for hPSCs, which can be automatically generated and registered by the human pluripotent stem cell registry (hPSCreg). To avoid ambiguities in PSC-line referencing, we strongly urge publishers to demand registration and use of the standard name when publishing research based on hPSC lines