I applied a digital teaching and assessment strategy to the ICT part of the Learning and Innovation Skills (LIS) module for year 1 Biomedical Engineers. This part of the module, worth 20% of the overall grade, focusses on Microsoft Excel and the main tools within the programme to support engineering work for the undergraduates and their future careers, primarily in the areas of functions, formulae and chart design. It is delivered in a blended environment with 3 digital laboratories of increasing complexity and level of assessment.
The digital teaching and assessment strategy used in this module is influenced by constructivism and active theory. The role of the instructor is to assist the learner in the Zone of Proximal Development in the first two labs and support them in their assignment outside of their Zone of Proximal Development. The digital labs are designed with intersubjectivity, scaffolding and guided participation at the forefront. Each digital lab uses guided participation and scaffolding. Guided participation is the shared interaction between instructor and student via interactive H5P videos. Scaffolding is the overall term for when the instructor supports the learners in their gradual understanding of the programme and be on hand to provide feedback to the learners, in this case via Moodle, Padlet. Lab 3 and the associated assignment employs intersubjectivity, where students share their previous experience with Excel through blog posts on their E Portfolios. The Digital Artefacts used in this redesigned Moodle page for LIS are: Personal E Portfolio, Interactive videos using H5P and Image Hotspot using H5P. The ICT part of the LIS module was flipped to a blended style as per the H5P framework reported by Wehling et al. (2021). I recorded three screencasts using Camtasia and exported them to YouTube. Interactivity was included in 2 of these videos using H5P interactive tools via Moodle LMS. In the blended labs students autonomously prepare by learning basic knowledge on Excel using these videos at home (guided participation), and they subsequently meet with the lecturer to gain deeper insights and participate in problem-solving exercises onsite (scaffolding). There is one MCQ used in this module redesign. I found the most useful aspect of using MCQs is the time saving benefit as they provide efficient methods to replace conventional assessments. The easily attainable Moodle statistics help inform decisions while revising the quizzes and making assessments more autonomous (Gamage 2019). The Module has a class Padlet that requires the students to upload their Excel charts created for their Excel assignment. These are then discussed openly in the onsite lab and/or online in the virtual noticeboard. I find Padlet a really great digital tool for students to contribute and learn from one another. All voices can be heard on the digital wall, which as Fuchs (2014) states is an idea that strikes right at the heart of our profession. As part of LIS each biomedical engineering student will have developed their own E Portfolio prior to beginning the Excel part of the course. E-portfolios are digital representations of students’ work along with reflections on their learning (Reynolds et al, 2014). They offer students many opportunities to demonstrate and reflect on their learning through a variety of media. They enable students to make connections, achieve greater success, and improve both their leadership skills and future employability (Eynon & Gambino, 2017; Haave, 2016; Yueh, 2016; Weber, 2018). Discussing and reflecting upon Excel in the greater context of their engineering course and further again to the profession of engineering follows social constructivist theory that learning is not just the assimilation of new knowledge but that behaviour modification can occur when the individual can relate the knowledge to their experiences (Bates 2016). Keeping the educational material up to date and interesting is important for student engagement and reflection. I find doing modules such as the Digital Teaching and Learning module really helpful in creating opportunities for collaboration. Creating suitable e-learning resources and embedding them in well-designed learning activities can be both challenging and time consuming. Sharing and adapting effective designs and solutions is both a stimulant and a time saver. I was able to use experimental data from my own research to create some educational resources that can be used across a range of modules. I communicated a lot with my colleague Dr Aoife O Brien in combining learning MS Excel skills with mathematics for engineering. The reusability of content is key to establishing connection between modules which is sometimes lacking in the subject of engineering. It is often found that students fail to connect the dots so to speak with their modules. By using real world mathematical problems or engineering problems, students can relate with the content quicker and encourages application of theoretical content. Students can share what they have learned with their peers, and we too can learn from them. An area I would like to improve upon in the future is extending the digital teaching and learning strategy to other areas of the course such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, the other ICT skills exercised in this module. The same format of 2 digitally enhanced labs and an assignment would create a continuity between each part of the module and support the work of the student. I also want to improve on the idea of digital group work. Dr Aoife O Brien is an expert in peer assessment using Moodle Workshop and this is something I want to employ for future assessments in this module. References Bates, Bob. (2016). Learning Theories Simplified: and how to apply them to teaching Los Angeles SAGE Publications. Eynon, B., & Gambino, L. M. (2017). High-impact ePortfolio practice: A catalyst for student, faculty, and institutional learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Fuchs, B. (2014) "The Writing is on the Wall: Using Padlet for Whole-Class Engagement" Library Faculty and Staff Publications. 240. Gamage, S.H.P.W., Ayres, J.R., Behrend, M.B. et al. (2019) Optimising Moodle quizzes for online assessments. IJ STEM Ed 6, 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-019-0181-4 Haave, N. (2016). E-Portfolios Rescue Biology Students from a Poorer Final Exam Result. Bioscene, 42(1), 8-15. Reynolds, C., & Patton, J. (2015). Leveraging the ePortfolio for integrative learning: A faculty guide to classroom practices for transforming student learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Weber, K. (2018). Employer Perceptions of an Engineering Student’s Electronic Portfolio. IJeP, 8(1), 57-71. Wehling, J., Volkenstein, S., Dazert, S. (2021) Fast-track flipping: flipped classroom framework development with open-source H5P interactive tools. BMC Med Educ 21, 351. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02784-8 Yueh, H. (2013). Engineering students’ perceptions of and reflections on portfolio practice in leadership development. Int J Eng Educ, 29(1), 99-106
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AuthorFiona is a biomedical engineer, lecturer and science communicator in the west of Ireland Archives
January 2022
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