Connecting staff expectations and student understanding of professional engineering skills in a multidisciplinary design challenge

Abstract

This paper discusses the evolution of an active learning assignment [1] for second year undergraduate biomedical engineers. An arc of assignments throughout the first two years of their study supports their understanding of the design cycle and aids in assimilation of material taught in lectures and more structured laboratory workshops [2]. The assignment - to create an item of 'smart' clothing for an athlete - was primarily designed to reinforce student learning in the areas of physiological monitoring through transducers, basic electronics and Arduino programming. A misalignment was observed between teaching staff's preconceptions of students' skills and knowledge, and the experience that the students actually bring to the assignment which influences how they approach the work, echoing the concept of the hidden curriculum [3]. This led to the team aiming to improve support of students' skills in debugging, their awareness of laboratory health and safety and links between different strands of their education through pre-assignment material, changes in teaching vocabulary and small changes in assessment. The impact of the changes has been evaluated through teaching team discussions and analysis ofshort pieces of individual reflective writing done by every student as part of their assessment before and after the material's introduction