Assessing Student Learning in EPICS
Assessing Student Learning: OutlineWhat to assessLearning objectives and
expectationsArtifacts – data to assessGradingSr. Design Example
What to AssessStudents are given academic credit
for mastering course content, Not for the service they provide for the
communityStudents are therefore assessed on
their demonstrated mastery of course content
Defining Learning Objectives Started with ECE Senior Design: A student who
successfully fulfills the course will demonstrate:
1. an ability to apply technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering products;
2. an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process; 3. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of
the problem-solving/design process; 4. an awareness of the customer in engineering design; 5. an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an
appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplines;
6. an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences ;
7. demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibility;
8. an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts .
Common set of outcomes across disciplines Engineering your discipline
Multidisciplinary AssessmentsEPICS often requires multidisciplinary
approachesAssessing students from different
areas requires their own learning objectives in their “own language”Freshman vs seniorOne vs two creditsEngineer vs Liberal Arts
Important to be specific about expectations and outcomes
Evaluation Rubric
Competencies Beginning Developing Accomplished Exemplary
Technical Skills Design Process CommunicationTeamwork
ResourcefulnessCommunity Awareness Professional ethics
Setting ExpectationsTeams set goals for the semester
through a project planFaculty advisor approves plan
Students set individual personal goals for each semesterGoals in week 4, updates weeks 8 and
12Faculty advisor approves goalsSelf assessments weeks 4, 8, 12 and 16
Artifacts: Data to AssessStudents produce artifacts that can be
assessed during their EPICS experienceDesign NotebooksReflectionsSelf-assessmentsPresentationsReports
Project documentationDelivered projects
Manuals or other documentations with project
Design Notebooks & Documentation Build a record (portfolio) of an individual’s
workDocument individual progressCapture reflection/metacognitive activities
Academic and service experience
Guidelines provided and evaluate during the semester% of points on format and contentDiscipline useful for later as professionals
Project documentationDocuments successes and achievementsDigital archive for projects
Assessing Team and Individual WorkTeams are assessed
Project planCustomer/Partner feedbackPresentations and team reports
Individual artifacts assessed Peer assessments Summary of accomplishmentsIndividual NotebooksReflectionsDesign records - authoredObservations
“Dry Run” Grading = Calibration Midsemester grading is a “dry run”
If the semester were to end today, you would receive a _____
All resources and artifacts evaluatedSelf assessments evaluated
Students provided with a team and individual grade or range and commentsWhat would they have to do to improve?
Calibrates students and facultyProblems can be identified earlyNeed for documentation reinforced
Final GradingRepeat process for dry run grades
Final self-assessmentStudents receive comments and their
gradesUse dry run evaluations as a basis
Students addressed concerns over the last half of the semester?
Emphasis on documentationDo the artifacts represent their level of
work?
ABET, Sr. Design and EPICS EPICS projects are well-matched
to the ABET criteria. Customer-driven service learning
means that each team has a different project and that each student may have a different role on the team.
This variability requires procedures for assessment, tracking, and documentation of projects and of student outcomes.
Senior Design and EPICSSr. Design option for
ECE, IDE and CS studentsTwo semesters of EPICS
Outcomes matrixDemonstrate each has been metApprovals, TA, Advisor, EPICS
Project DescriptionApprovals, Advisor, EPICS, ECE
Documents saved on Sharepoint Server (revision control)
EPICS and ABET Fulfills capstone design requirement for
Purdue BSEE, BSCmpE and BSIDE degrees
3 credits over 2 senior semesters 8 outcomes related to the Program
Objectives & Outcomes 2 approval processes:
Significant design experience on a suitable project
Satisfaction of course outcomes by each student: “A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements associated with at least 3 credits of EPICS taken over 2 or more semesters will …”
Project Approval Project Description Form:
Team & project nameProject members, majors, expertiseProject & customer summaryHow builds on earlier ECE coursesNew technical knowledge acquiredMultidisciplinary natureHow project involves professional
component (criterion 4) constraints One form per project w/ senior
design students per semester Reviewed/approved by team
advisor, EPICS administrators, ECE Senior Design committee
Purdue ECE Senior Design Semester Report for EPICS Projects Semester Course Number and Title
EE 490 Senior Participation in Engineering Projects in Community Service (Senior Design)
EPICS Team
Name(s) of Advisor(s)
Project Title Senior Design Students: Graduation Date Name
Project Description: Provide a brief technical description of the design project, including the following: (Type below).
a) A summary of the project, including customer, purpose, specifications, and a summary of the approach:
b) A description of how the project built upon knowledge and skills acquired in earlier
ECE coursework:
c) A description of what new technical knowledge and skills, if any, were acquired in
doing the project:
d) How the engineering design process is incorporated into the project:
Outcomes Certification
Deliverables Design notebook Design reviews Reports Presentations Weekly reports Customer feedback Peer evaluation Self assessment
Documenting Outcomes:
EPICS Senior Design Student Outcomes MatrixStudent's Name:
Team:
Project:
Semesters Recorded:
Describe how the student's realization of the outcome is documented
sem 1
sem 2 Outcomes: How documented:
Student Initials & Date:
TA Initials & Date:
Advisor Initials & Date:
EPICS Initials & Date:
i. applies technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering productsii. demonstrates an understanding of design as a start-to-finish processiii. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problem-solving/design processiv. demonstrates an awareness of the customer in engineering designv. demonstrates an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplinesvi. demonstrates an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiencesvii. demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibilityviii. demonstrates an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts
EPICS APPROVAL - OUTCOMES COMPLETED:Initials/Date:
See the EPICS Senior Design Outcomes document for additional information on assessment of outcomes and how outcomes may be documented.
Enter date(s) of documentation of
outcome
Outcomes Certification Outcomes record maintained by students Reviewed twice per semester by TAs and
team advisor: incremental approval Semester-end and year-end review by
EPICS administration Reviews:
Approval ofoutcomes anddocumentation
Redirect student’sefforts