SEMINAR: The Learning Space: FASE Seminar ' Interactive Teaching in Engineering'

Engineering programs often feature units that contain a semester-long project, in which students are required to complete an extended piece of work throughout the full duration of the semester. The traditional model of assessment for such units is for students to present a series of demonstrations of intermediate stages throughout the semester.

This approach can lead to large amounts of high-stress productivity in the weeks leading up to the demonstrations. There is also a danger that this kind of burst-mode learning promotes shallow learning, rather than emphasising deep learning outcomes.

This seminar will present an alternative assessment approach called ‘Milestone-Based Marking’ and discuss the challenges and rewards of this method. The Milestone approach changes the nature of the assessment from a purely summative process to a largely formative process. Students whose performances are borderline can be given specific feedback about what they need to do to reach the expected competency levels.

During this seminar, Dr Euan Lindsay will explore how this alternative assessment approach can assist students in the management of their workload and enable students to become more independent learners.