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2.3 Frame the Intended Learning Outcomes
2.3 Frame the Intended Learning Outcomes
Whether you are designing one or several project courses that will need to provide a progression of project working skills, or only designing a single project course that stands on its own, it is important and useful to define the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the project course. What knowledge should the students be able to apply? Which team work skills will be assessed? How should they be able to communicate and visualise their results and solutions? The following section will take a closer look at the choices to be made in the formulation of the intended learning outcomes in a project course.
Many of the aspects covered in the guide will relate to the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the project course. The ILOs are statements on what the students will be able to do as a result of the course: what type of knowledge, skills and abilities will be gained, in which contexts, and on what conceptual level. Typically, in a project course, ILOs are re-formulated and new ones added, as part of the continuous course improvement over the years, since many different learning opportunities are discovered when the course is running.
A well designed project course will align the activities and assessment tasks with the ILOs, so that students can practice and show his/her learning progress, and so that teachers can make sure the ILOs are reached.
The main critical aspect when defining the ILOs and starting the design of your project course is finding the balance between focusing on the level of the result of the project work (the solutions, the ideas presented, the products and so on) on the one hand, and the level of the learning and development of the students themselves and their possibilities to explore new ways of thinking, on the other hand. This should be taken into consideration when designing and revising your course.
The following criteria, as shown in table 2, can be useful when writing the ILOs for your project course with a focus on students’ learning and achievements.
Table 2. Criteria for writing the intended learning outcomes, ILOs.
|
ILOs should |
NOT an ILO |
An ILO |
|
State the intended learning
- Tell what the student should be able to do as a result of the course |
”Foundations of structural mechanics, analysis of thin-walled stiffened shells, plates, stability theory and introduction to finite element methods. The course will give the student a basic knowledge of the structural behaviour of beams, plates and shells, and of the analysis and design of these types of structures, specifically, strength, stiffness, and weight issues for unstiffened and stiffened thin-walled structures.” |
After the course you will be able to - identify and describe the purpose and function of different structural members in lightweight structures. - choose appropriate structural elements for a given problem, with respect to function and weight. - design thin-walled beams and stiffened shells with respect to stress levels, deformation and structural stability. - describe the concepts of finite element software tools and apply them in analysis of standard structural members. - explain discrepancies between results from different analytical methods through knowledge about the various approximations they are based on |
|
Be in terms of observable performances
- clear and specific enough for assessment to be based upon them and so that the students themselves would know if they have reached them |
“… To have an understanding of XYZ”
“… To be familiar with XYZ” |
- describe and compare the XYZ concepts |
|
Be hinting at the level of understanding
- see more about levels further down! |
“The students should be able to describe the properties of materials” |
The student should be able to - explain the properties of materials in relation to chemical binding - choose the appropriate materials for a given construction with regard to function, conditions of operation, economic and environmental factors |
The formulation of the ILOs, with proper verbs and contexts, are always best handled by teachers within the specific field. If you find it useful, below, in table 3, we have tried to distinguish three levels of skills and abilities with verbs from Bloom’s taxonomy15, based on our experience with how project courses normally are designed. Level 3 is the highest. At the same time, as described in the previous section on the progression of project work skills, a first level project course can, and often should, involve all crucial steps involved in a project work, while the complexity of the project tasks could evolve over the study years.
Table 3. Three levels of skills and abilities in ILOs
|
Level 1 |
Frequently used verbs for the ILO |
About the level |
|
|
Calculate, Execute Relate, Show Solve, Use Describe, Develop Formulate, Test, Compare, Interpret |
Training the students’ basic abilities to work in projects, such as:
Also, creating an overview of the problem solution process. Frequent supervision and/or lectures. |
|
Level 2 |
Organize, Sketch Prepare, Plan Model, simulate Produce, Categorize Compile, Explain Discuss, Relate Summarize Identify and formulate solution paths. |
Project work skills are used in more advanced projects. Knowledge must be applied from other science and engineering courses, which will help students to develop more conceptual understanding and insights. Project papers or essays will promote this even better. Aspects such as users’ needs, ethics, environment and society more common. Target groups and users’ needs and knowledge will need to be taken into account during project work, and during presentations and demonstrations. Critical thinking and independency more emphasized. Team work skills more emphasized, different teams, often chosen by the teachers.
|
|
Level 3 |
Predict, Create, Argue, Combine, Design, Construct Produce, Evaluate Prove, Discover Modify, Reconstruct
|
Critical, independent and creative on the complete project working process. Applications and conclusions on scientific ground. Very limited amount of information to the students from the teacher. International contexts. Mixed working groups. Strict time frames. Development and progression can be followed, by for instance portfolios. Conference format on presentations, with posters and papers. |
Example from Lightweight Design/Naval Design describing ILOs on a high and universal level:
In this master level project course, the ILOs are framed so that they state what the students are expected to be able to do after the course, and not on what they are solving within the particular course: - Analyse technical problems in a systems view
- Handle technical problems which are incompletely stated and subject to multiple constraints
- Develop strategies for systematic choice and use of available engineering methods and tools
- Make estimations and appreciate their value and limitations
- Make decisions based on acquired knowledge
- Pursue own ideas and realize them practically
- Assess quality of own work and work by others
- Work in a true project setting that effectively utilizes available resources
- Explain mechanisms behind progress and difficulties in such a setting
- Communicate engineering – orally, in writing and graphically
The ILOs are on a high and universal level, and they do not state that the students are going to build something as part of the project course. This means that even though every course round has a new and different challenge, the ILOs are the same.
Suggestion: It’s important that you frame the ILOs for your course, and re-frame them when you see that this is needed. ILOs should be formulated in the sense that you can always point to them when discussing with students, external partners, teaching assistants and other teachers.