tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29930744537713853502024-03-28T09:55:33.899+00:00Practical Engineering EducationLearn by doing. A blog dedicated to practical Engineering Education and related topics. Published by a team at Engineering at Sheffield with a spiritual home in Multidisciplinary Engineering Education, based in the Diamond at the University of Sheffield, UK.
In the Faculty of Engineering we teach engineering and host the Centre for Engineering Education.Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-20009215171562566182024-03-20T15:59:00.000+00:002024-03-20T15:59:01.045+00:00Practical Engineering Education Conference 2024<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wait, what! <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/home" target="_blank">The Practical Engineering Education Conference 2024 (PEE24) </a>is open for registrations. Where does time go?* </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />The first <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2021/06/practical-engineering-education.html" target="_blank">Practical Engineering Education conference took place in 2021</a>, and welcomed delegates from 20 Universities. The conference has grown in impact and prestige since, and its third iteration promises an incredible line up of <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/what-to-expect/keynote-speakers" target="_blank">keynote speakers</a>, including <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/claire-lucas-1">Professor Claire Lucas</a> from King’s College London, who will be revolutionising engineering pedagogy, and <a href="https://people.ucd.ie/brett.becker">Dr Brett A. Becker</a> from University College Dublin, who will explore the transformative potential of generative AI in engineering education. The conference will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of July at it's birth place in The University of Sheffield's <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/diamond-engineering">Diamond Building</a> and the<a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/programme"> programme for PEE24</a> is stacked with goodness. The conference will be a place to spark fresh ideas, and to ignite new approaches to practical teaching and inspire others.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiNEcd1FS4RRkkTf8gfWohoPL0cxz_CaCYBShe54gN6NakaQwwVURHvdJR754J0CDu5SOeriO53GX96DVYbgNnqvOVv1_1p4wddb5YYOWt9SAuTuHCq8JbTahpwZdx8Y7S0PG9wUDf7zBXF4iW_rhLKiMnKfUGjXTM2JI9g9kdmq-Qpc-0vaLw_-S_T64p" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiNEcd1FS4RRkkTf8gfWohoPL0cxz_CaCYBShe54gN6NakaQwwVURHvdJR754J0CDu5SOeriO53GX96DVYbgNnqvOVv1_1p4wddb5YYOWt9SAuTuHCq8JbTahpwZdx8Y7S0PG9wUDf7zBXF4iW_rhLKiMnKfUGjXTM2JI9g9kdmq-Qpc-0vaLw_-S_T64p" width="320" /></a></div><div>Conferences are the best way to connect with a vibrant community, and to share your passion for hands-on learning with like-minded peers. They are places to develop new collaborations and to shape the future by contributing to building curriculum that ignite lifelong passion for real-world engineering.</div><br />At PEE24, there will be plenty of opportunities to network with fellow educators and industry professionals. This year, there will be a Gala Dinner on the night of July 2nd, which promises to be a delightful evening of networking and fine dining at the prestigious INOX Dine restaurant.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/home" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="798" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCChCXMBqLHkhMkBJ2i3bI8xJ0UUluC58L82xtaZBba94m7Pw4foRhOKJ6NZK_s4JoyhU-NXpBWM-XXkqtikUiiO81eyd_MlHIMOqhH_5sNockM6WLSt8iVFuQ9WTEufr4FPeJKHqcDkgag6Ogmas2dpdhLVEW9hq7JB6yqIXVLyoHCUN9x36A1S4bLiTt=w283-h400" width="283" /></a></div><br />Additionally, there will be high quality sponsors, including <a href="https://www.didacticservices.co.uk/">Didactic Services Ltd</a>, <a href="https://www.gunt-technology.co.uk/">GUNT</a>, <a href="https://www.matrixtsl.com/">Matrix TSL</a>, <a href="https://www.tecquipment.com/">TecQuipment</a>,<a href="https://armfield.co.uk/"> Armfield</a>, and <a href="https://www.shimadzu.co.uk/">Shimadzu</a>. Their commitment to advancing engineering education ensures that PEE24 will be a valuable and enriching experience for all attendees.<br /><br /><a href="https://onlineshop.shef.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/faculty-of-engineering/multidisciplinary-engineering-education/practical-engineering-education-conference-2024-delegate-tickets">Register</a> before the 30th April early Bird Rate of £125, after which standard rate is £175. There is also a student rate of £20 per person.<br /><br />To learn more about PEE24 visit<a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/home"> the website</a> or contact <a href="mailto:pee@sheffield.ac.uk">pee@sheffield.ac.uk</a>.<br /><br />*Oh yes, of course, into the start of semester singularity that swallows time, and everything else besides.<br /><div class="separator"><br /></div></span><br />Michael Trikichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127599252475763534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-72442283052366753382024-01-29T10:00:00.002+00:002024-01-29T10:00:00.131+00:00Feedback Strategy in MEE - Episode 2<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Hello again!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a somewhat overdue follow up of my blog posted back in 2022 (</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2022/01/our-strategy-for-student-feedback-in-mee.html" target="_blank"><i>Our strategy for student feedback in MEE</i></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>A year after the full rollout of a departmental feedback system, I will be discussing how it was implemented and what the impacts have been for staff and students...</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><span> </span><span> ...was it worth doing?</span></b></i><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps this will be food for thought for student voice systems in your own department, or maybe you can give me some comments/pointers from your own experiences!</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">A quick recap</b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back in 2022 we identified <i>gaps</i> in MEE's (Multidisciplinary Engineering Education) feedback <i>net</i>. At the time we didn't have a system in place that was able to capture the important day-to-day information about student experience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The end of semester module surveys (called 'TellUs' at Sheffield, and the <a href="https://www.thestudentsurvey.com/">NSS</a>, don't provide a tight enough <i>net - a </i>student would have to remember a comment for weeks/months before they could submit it through the survey. MEE therefore introduced a digital 'open-door' style feedback letter box allowing students to give anonymous feedback about their classes, on the fly, anytime.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We also made a place to collect this feedback 'data', along with all the other student feedback we could get our hands on (...nothing fancy, just a spreadsheet). The <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2022/01/our-strategy-for-student-feedback-in-mee.html" target="_blank">previous blog</a> explains all that in more detail along with all the components of the feedback system, and the aspirations before it was introduced.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">What's happened since</b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">After a trial phase, the feedback system was introduced department-wide (in MEE/ The Diamond) in 2023.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since its initial trial incarnation, the Diamond (MEE) Feedback Letterbox had a bit of a branding update.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GtTgwYdPXc7CJTL6VxE067fnx2ORtQMiTUTcqcycawUuiLo0OLSWmpi1HyWb0ZfENiV73F92nn_XgwSHOyCdmD4i7PUgIoRoGW3huMR-zSKGAXvw6wIiyzEoEgizli0ewSbWWZey443bPpScUKDFSfLGUp7RFpUnS3gci9hqQ0D6iizE7PA83J4zYkp9/s817/Thumbnail.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="817" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GtTgwYdPXc7CJTL6VxE067fnx2ORtQMiTUTcqcycawUuiLo0OLSWmpi1HyWb0ZfENiV73F92nn_XgwSHOyCdmD4i7PUgIoRoGW3huMR-zSKGAXvw6wIiyzEoEgizli0ewSbWWZey443bPpScUKDFSfLGUp7RFpUnS3gci9hqQ0D6iizE7PA83J4zYkp9/w181-h156/Thumbnail.PNG" width="181" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>We then added digital portals on the Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard). </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Additionally, we provided physical signposting on lab doors, as well as displaying digital posters on the screens around the department. This visibility and consistency not only shows the students where the letterbox is, but also that we value their input.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When a student goes into a lab class, they are then able to get to the feedback letterbox in just one click (or a scan of the QR code) to provide a comment about their experience.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXwa_KOjcsPXMun6UIcfPeNJjwRgh1EFd33g1qxubPMDaXd1Fb9LmmbAouaT88uLkQw-_TGvRGnL5s-CCE_FvBD2SgoMm5Q-LjZhvcv2j1ASvnewf8GvF6DjAogaHDlETlmXW5-0D7-Vs2zI09a2TZktxlU6khWYjHzmI2A-KcfARAcGdHroGVxBBNO8Zm/s819/Signposting.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="819" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXwa_KOjcsPXMun6UIcfPeNJjwRgh1EFd33g1qxubPMDaXd1Fb9LmmbAouaT88uLkQw-_TGvRGnL5s-CCE_FvBD2SgoMm5Q-LjZhvcv2j1ASvnewf8GvF6DjAogaHDlETlmXW5-0D7-Vs2zI09a2TZktxlU6khWYjHzmI2A-KcfARAcGdHroGVxBBNO8Zm/w481-h314/Signposting.PNG" width="481" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So over the last year or so, students have been submitting comments through the feedback letterbox. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">In addition we sifted through TellUs (and NSS) data, Staff-Student Committees, and collected it all into the central feedback database.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>....and from all these student feedback comments we have:</i></span></div><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Had lots of small wins (low hanging fruit)</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Many comments are easy things to fix, such as "this labsheet should be more clear when it explains....", or "there seems to be an error in this quiz....". These comments get sent straight to the relevant teaching staff so they can quickly address the issue. Easy wins!</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Shared good news stories with staff</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot of the time students just said nice things like "...this lab was great as the staff were helpful and the activity helped me understand the theories...". These are great messages to share with staff for a moral boost, and its nice to know what things the students enjoy most!</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Identified bigger themes/trends to fix long term</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Big issues need more attention and consideration, and sometimes lots of little comments add up to form a big trend. We analysed the feedback to identify commonalities, and then formulated key projects/task groups that work towards strategic improvements in the longer term.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A</span><span style="font-family: arial;">s a result of all this, we have made lots of headway in improving things across the department. Arguable, we have 'plugged gaps' in our feedback net with some success. </span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>...but can we quantify this impact in any way?</i></span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Annual Review </b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is hard to <i>measure</i> the impact of introducing the Feedback Strategy to MEE. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">However, as a simple metric, many comments have been addressed & improvements made. So there <u><i>is</i></u> demonstrable progress in the right direction. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">We scooped up over a years worth of data, and here are some key headlines:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">At the end of 2023, MEE's feedback database had 114 rows of data. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">33 of these were comments submitted via the feedback letterbox.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> In general 1 database row equates to 1 comment, but for TellUs comments 1 row in the database represents a collection of comments related to a module. D</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ata was also gathered from NSS, Staff-Student Committees, and Focus Groups.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This feedback data collectively formed 91 actions - of which:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">88% Are completed</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">9% Need chasing up</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">3% Formed larger/longer term projects (in progress)</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Reflecting on this a bit more:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Considering actions as 'small' or 'large' was a simple, sensible way of managing lots of data. It allowed us as a department to quickly fix the easy problems ‘low hanging fruit’, while identifying recurring themes so that we can take a more strategic view of bigger changes in the long term.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Creating extra admin effort (managing of the system) was an early concern. It turned out to be fairly low when spread over a year, and also because the volume of comments submitted to the feedback letterbox was not particularly high</span><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Number of submissions (engagement) through the feedback letterbox will <b><i>increase </i></b>as feedback culture develops in the department/faculty (student awareness). </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">However, e</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ngagement will <b><i>decrease</i></b> as we fix everything and there a fewer issues to report.</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Closing-the-loop remains a challenge! It's impractical to close the loop on hundreds of individual comments (without bombarding students with info they won't read). After discussing this challenge with the faculty student experience committee, we decided that MEE would provide short "<i>you said, we did</i>" segments into departmental newsletters </span><span style="font-family: arial;">> a short summary mentioning key bits of student feedback and the correcting actions we took.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Has the feedback strategy helped?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Reviewing the data showed that introduction of the feedback strategy (including the feedback letterbox) has directly resulted in a sizeable volume of improvements to education quality and student experience across the department. We are now more effective at listening to student voice and implementing changes as a result.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Staff engagement with the process including receiving feedback and deciding/taking 'Actions' has been great. With this, and</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> because of 'feedback' coming up more often in team meetings, MEE's culture/business-as-usual is now incrementally more focussed on student voice.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Could it be improved?</b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Annual reviews will keep happening to make sure that the system is useful, effective, and evolving with the times!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In the future we want to explore using automations to improve the efficiency of the system, and to explore more ways of closing the feedback loop. There are a few ideas down on paper for this - such as displaying "you said, we did" bulletins on our display screens around the building.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The main future aim is to share more about this work in MEE (hence this blog) and thereby gain insight from others (you?) doing work on student feedback/voice/experience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Thanks for reading!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial;"><u>Please leave a comment or get in touch if you want to discuss!</u></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p><p><br /></p>Harry Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15862156242443046406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-2230503486093999682024-01-15T13:29:00.002+00:002024-01-15T13:29:45.693+00:00MEE at the International CDIO Conference 2023<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is a great time of year to be planning conference submissions, but if you need more motivation, in June 2023, Krys Bangert and Joanna Bates attended and presented at the 19th International </span><a href="http://cdio.org/about" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conceiving, Designing, Implementing & Operating (CDIO)</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> conference hosted by the </span><a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/cdio/home" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In this blog post, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Krys Bangert </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reflects on his experience at the conference.</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-e60c4966-7fff-fa8a-50d3-7442e430a260"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Krys’s experience</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The CDIO Initiative organises the annual International CDIO Conference in June which is the largest meeting of the year. The conference includes presentation of papers and other special seminars, workshops, events and activities. All aspects of the conference are associated with providing a framework for engineering education that stresses engineering fundamentals set in the context of real-world systems and products. This methodology has a lot of similarities to the University of Sheffield’s approach to engineering tuition (and MEE in particular), because of this it was selected by the MEE’s </span><a href="https://staff.sheffield.ac.uk/news/supporting-colleagues-pedagogical-research-and-scholarship" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Research Support Group (RSG)</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> as an excellent event to attend to share and learn about best teaching practices.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As part of the conference, I presented some research I had been working on with </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iEzuRkmJszsTYOLq6tBvvGownUDpSCBV/view?usp=drive_link" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Edward Browncross, Matteo Di Benedetti, Harry Day and Andrew Garrard on the theme of “Comparing XR and digital flipped methods to meet learning objectives”</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This study builds upon existing work carried out in the field of virtual labs, that indicates these experiences can help reinforce student learning outcomes. Essentially our study was a comparison of student learning performance in response to exposure to three different types of simulation that we made in house: </span></span></div><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Web Browser-Based “low fidelity” Simulation, </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Stanford University Platform iLabs 2D Simulation and </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Low Fidelity - Unity iVR (immersive Virtual Reality). </span></p></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XtaMV7bmyerZWby19GLTRYLpbsI6VJ_DY24ZM4BpK8JliDRVcM8fxSuUzQykFNIl7ra8AuF2HBMQlhDfHE1T7X_7KLryl0RuZr3tvKDEtq4P3-ruu5YmY-uItO40SP2t-IWiVDmlgOhHfPO3wG1ukti9qOTVBwo7p1WhsqeSwSySV-X4zoxGqAIhYCg/s3825/CDIO%20Simulations%20picture.png" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: collapse;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="3825" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XtaMV7bmyerZWby19GLTRYLpbsI6VJ_DY24ZM4BpK8JliDRVcM8fxSuUzQykFNIl7ra8AuF2HBMQlhDfHE1T7X_7KLryl0RuZr3tvKDEtq4P3-ruu5YmY-uItO40SP2t-IWiVDmlgOhHfPO3wG1ukti9qOTVBwo7p1WhsqeSwSySV-X4zoxGqAIhYCg/w604-h168/CDIO%20Simulations%20picture.png" width="604" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-e5f214c1-7fff-2dba-0e81-f6dbae634bc7"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As part of the conference program I presented a “60 second elevator pitch” in the main auditorium to the entire conference following the keynote speaker. This was rather daunting but mine seemed to go down well with the delegates!</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYu1YE1PEvZtuWrADg7MKB4GqaQh0N9P8ma49V2aDtzdg7h4jgNLXQ65rBgWUsTu-i5CuVG1OLYoNGjIgzGx3TjqFznUpENh8s7iCxuIMATJRMzT6AXewDoQL94tpgxsWZFtTRrkvuQGf8t8If-yfYTcsy_Ge0-57sOgOpYMWRKujCiZEMazUNJs8vfbE/s278/KB%20presenting%20at%20CDIO%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="278" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYu1YE1PEvZtuWrADg7MKB4GqaQh0N9P8ma49V2aDtzdg7h4jgNLXQ65rBgWUsTu-i5CuVG1OLYoNGjIgzGx3TjqFznUpENh8s7iCxuIMATJRMzT6AXewDoQL94tpgxsWZFtTRrkvuQGf8t8If-yfYTcsy_Ge0-57sOgOpYMWRKujCiZEMazUNJs8vfbE/s1600/KB%20presenting%20at%20CDIO%202.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Afterwards was the poster exhibition. I’d been working with the conference organisers to arrange a demonstration of the software in the study alongside the poster itself, which incorporated a VR headset that I had brought with me. The response was amazingly positive, I had a constant crowd of delegates to talk to about aspects of the study and how to progress it moving forward to the main study in September. Some of the conversations went on so long I nearly missed the delegate lunch! But it was worthwhile as I made some very useful contacts in universities in Sweden, Estonia and the Netherlands, the latter of which at TUDelft, I subsequently arranged to have an online meeting in September to scope out possible future collaborations with other teams within MEE.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTKexeXxhrKAbWDvjOtaYVVy-85Zw4s4stH9iXtei4CSFjaJrbliAiRzgZJCSFZm4o_RR0Vs8upAcyUeKg1hTkaHYuE9IhH-22c-lK5PZS017904kaUMTrbq959rBsqDkWExRke0TUKhg4fr-z3ubvfcoJmlhdhy_XDLFLwS3UcwADBvDhu6NLBgwfXg/s426/KB%20Poster%20at%20CDIO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="426" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTKexeXxhrKAbWDvjOtaYVVy-85Zw4s4stH9iXtei4CSFjaJrbliAiRzgZJCSFZm4o_RR0Vs8upAcyUeKg1hTkaHYuE9IhH-22c-lK5PZS017904kaUMTrbq959rBsqDkWExRke0TUKhg4fr-z3ubvfcoJmlhdhy_XDLFLwS3UcwADBvDhu6NLBgwfXg/s320/KB%20Poster%20at%20CDIO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div>In the late morning Joanna gave her presentation on “Induction Diamond Labs - Giving Everyone an Equal Starting Point”, showcasing the work she had done alongside Andrew Garrard and Edward Browncross.</span></div></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c44aa1b6-7fff-5373-8ba2-f8c3b1cb2165"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Joanna gave a great talk about how we carry out induction labs and the MEE approach to mass teaching. This highlighted the efficiency gains on staff time, setup time and educational delivery versus transitional teaching models.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; white-space: pre;">
</span></span></p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; text-wrap: nowrap;">Aside from our presentations (!), some of the highlights relevant to MEE were:</span></div></div><p></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 20px;"><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">A presentation regarding technical staff career progression, given by Mark Nivan Singh, Sin Moh Cheah, and Helene Leong of the </span><a href="https://sp-cdio-centreforteaching.sp.edu.sg/" style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: underline;">CDIO Centre for Innovative Teaching & Learning at Singapore Polytechnic University</span> </a></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Calvin Rans at TUDelft University gave a talk about “The Student Flight Data Recorder – Building a Culture of Learning from Failure”, a unique approach to getting aerospace students to plan their studies and reflect on what they achieved throughout their course.
</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Serdar Asut presented on “HANDZONe: Towards a Hybrid Learning Space for Hands-on Learning Activities”, about using remote access control of physical lab equipment and also using VR models.</span></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ivanna Sandyk from Tallinn University in Estonia gave a talk about “Pneumatics Laboratory Interactive Educational Experience Development”, creating a modular virtual reality hydraulic system for teaching, allowing students to assemble components in any way they saw fit to meet learning objectives.</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Pop-up Roundtable on “SUPER Assessor – A Game developed for integration of sustainability in learning design” by Ole Andreas Alsos, Ingrid Berg Sivertsen, Dag Håkon Haneberg, and Åshild Wilhelmsen of NTNU, Norway. This session was a gamification of curriculum design using a board game of their own design.</span></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Workshop on challenge-based learning titled “Student-driven Engineering Education: Design Your Own Living Lab Case” by Toine Andernach, Anita van Oosten, and Remon Rooij.</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The country! We had some time for sightseeing in the town before setting off on the long journey back. We all went on the tram to a local beauty spot, visited a World War II era fort, and Harriet/Joanna went to a local island by boat (see photos below). Norway is a beautiful country.</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The food! Particularly the conference dinner, which was hosted at the Frimurerlogen hall. Throughout our stay, we tried local produce and drinks, including reindeer stew!</span> </span></li></ul><div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYADMZhNcH84-IgU4A7WlhxQMV1e_2vRzTOEuN5fmZWbYf82YjQ7F2JFBC6rGYteSEVqaV3wHyc3H93qj2pAN6SsB32kr8OCisuXY97PPjbPlkXpiIFnUoGiCp1BkRxng5f731hmqtYjy350JtVeOn7n0GgI7R-QLoz8ZGzvjJ_bLiKHnh2gVfpxyAmY/s3275/CDIO%20Norway.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="3275" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYADMZhNcH84-IgU4A7WlhxQMV1e_2vRzTOEuN5fmZWbYf82YjQ7F2JFBC6rGYteSEVqaV3wHyc3H93qj2pAN6SsB32kr8OCisuXY97PPjbPlkXpiIFnUoGiCp1BkRxng5f731hmqtYjy350JtVeOn7n0GgI7R-QLoz8ZGzvjJ_bLiKHnh2gVfpxyAmY/w483-h172/CDIO%20Norway.png" width="483" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">If you would like to find out more about our research, please do get in touch with us:</span><p></p></div><div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Krys Bangert: k.bangert@sheffield.ac.uk</span></span><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Joanna Bates: j.bates@sheffield.ac.uk<br /></span></span></div></div></span></span></span></div></span></div></span>Catherine Colletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06553410493993288520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-4400398983580934152023-12-21T10:28:00.007+00:002024-01-08T13:47:00.261+00:00Planning for Your Success in 2024 and the Centre For Engineering Education Launch<span style="font-family: arial;">The start of a new year. Although there are jobs to do, there is also a little time to reflect and plan, what were the wins and challenges of the last year, what is the workload looking like and what are the key jobs to prepare for the coming year?<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdcFd7H3ZQsEOkE92JJ85MEbBrxwl0tMxF3NR2FsDNPELl70SvSJBtYyCMqlOejdpc_dZRJPCraqXZirgXGTZrjudjEYwEguES_W7Jey4EykVDbKHTOK658yWhTDzKST-eSQDBFOrsluRsLT2Age1mVNxHrNA-aZkqQ0hvw0qLeqPQUsQcMonCRNXLqZJz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="960" data-original-width="2560" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdcFd7H3ZQsEOkE92JJ85MEbBrxwl0tMxF3NR2FsDNPELl70SvSJBtYyCMqlOejdpc_dZRJPCraqXZirgXGTZrjudjEYwEguES_W7Jey4EykVDbKHTOK658yWhTDzKST-eSQDBFOrsluRsLT2Age1mVNxHrNA-aZkqQ0hvw0qLeqPQUsQcMonCRNXLqZJz=w400-h150" width="400" /></a></div></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">At the end of last 2023, the launch of the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/cee">Centre for Engineering Education</a> (CEE) was an exciting and significant development, and it presents opportunities that will require both reflection and planning to make the most of. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">First of all what is it? There are many people doing great teaching and educational work at <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering">Engineering at Sheffield</a>, and CEE will allow this excellence to be recognised, shared and developed. In other words, CEE will engender a community of educators, supporting all staff in the faculty who teach to improve teaching, its impact and reputation as educationalists. It is an exciting place to be because it includes <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/acse">Automatic Control Systems Engineering</a>, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/home">Chemical and Biological Engineering</a>, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/civil/home">Civil and Structural Engineering</a>, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/dcs/home">Computer Science</a>, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/eee/home">Electronic and Electrical Engineering</a>, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/materials/home">Materials Science and Engineering</a>, and <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mecheng">Mechanical Engineering</a>, as well as Interdisciplinary Programmes Engineering and <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/diamond-engineering/about-us">Multidisciplinary Engineering Education</a>. It's exciting because these administrative entities are essentially groups of interesting people with great ideas and differing perspectives, who are enthusiastic about engineering, science and research. <br /><br />CEE is at an early stage, and there will be much work required to make it a success, but there is already <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/oer-gtadevelopmentprogram/0-home?authuser=0">support for the </a><a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/oer-gtadevelopmentprogram/0-home?authuser=0">development of Graduate Teaching Assistants (and Open Educational Resources)</a>, work that is built upon a <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2023/12/graduate-teaching-assistant-awards-and.html">long standing appreciation of GTAs and the work they do to support excellent teaching and learning</a>. In fact, celebrating people and their achievements is a core aim of CEE and there is already much to celebrate through <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/news/sheffield-academics-secure-prestigious-awards-teaching-excellence">collaborative teaching awards</a>, <a href="https://staff.sheffield.ac.uk/news/congratulations-our-new-fellows-higher-education-academy-0">HEA recognition of teaching quality</a> and <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/apse/elevate/awards#categories">Individual Teaching Awards</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="The award winning MEE team posing on a set of stairs in the Diamond" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZk38DhT5TC0qFTqx4gAxeQUmDgShbLKaJ4ORDNhUpSJc6517M1TmicyRsPnEv7W12DUtb570KMBBJkYR3Z3dkax07LEwQPuA43XtONFlkNvwAwhUHHt3s2SRjs0cZ6Th9Q4xlmqL9Xd7ssmaHoqI9gWe6JM34R5AQAYEMMZvAfOEp6UvXSzrGK9YYwpPw=w400-h225" title="The Award winning MEE team" width="400" /><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The award winning MEE team</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">What does this mean for academics, technical staff and professional services? With marking imminent, now is a good time to reflect on recent teaching. How effective was it? Why didn't the students do as well this year on that bit? What would make it easier or more efficient in the future? These questions naturally lead to plans, and since a blank page can be daunting, perhaps considering current best practice or recent teaching innovation might be helpful. In the future the network created by CEE will be able to help answer this question, for now maybe you want to ideas for a new <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2022/01/our-strategy-for-student-feedback-in-mee.html">feedback strategy</a>, want to utilise <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2023/11/hazard-lab.html">experiential </a><a href="#">teaching</a> or want inspiration for <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2023/11/mapping-plastic-waste-produced-from.html">student projects in for sustainable labs</a>.<br /><br />In the longer term, a successful CEE will require planning personal and collaborative scholarly outputs, and preparing for these now. The options for scholarly outputs are numerous, but a good place to start is a <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee24/home">local (Practical Engineering Education 24)</a> or <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=55241b1469&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1785355346728072994&th=18c6db3a87923722&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_lq6ob5tl0">international (UK & Ireland EERN)</a> conference presentation. The University of Sheffield is a member of the <a href="https://www.sefi.be/">European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI)</a>, have you considered presenting your work at the next <a href="https://sefi2024.eu/?sender_ctype=email&sender_campaign=dNnn3L&sender_customer=jMKmoz">SEFI Annual Conference</a> to give it a global platform? If you don't feel your work is ready for that, why not develop your ideas by writing a blog? Choose what is right for you, but most importantly, take your time to reflect and plan.</span><br /></div>Michael Trikichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127599252475763534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-17929085395123181802023-12-14T10:01:00.005+00:002023-12-14T10:01:00.136+00:00Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards and Career Development<span id="docs-internal-guid-0340300b-7fff-a310-5c58-f0d74797750a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span>Post by Gemma Gibson, the GTA Coordinator for <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/engineering/diamond-engineering/about-us" target="_blank">Multidisciplinary Engineering Education</a>, and Sarah Plumb, Academic Development Adviser in the Academic Practice and Skills Development (APSD) team</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span>In Multidisciplinary Engineering Education (MEE) over 200 Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) play an essential role by contributing to the running of labs and helping to provide students with a great experience through the teaching they support. MEE is a supportive and rewarding place to work, where contributions are recognised, career development is encouraged and staff are made to feel valued. We want this ethos to apply to our GTAs and to professionalise their role and the professional development opportunities available.</span></span></p><span><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The MEE GTA Awards were introduced as a way of recognising exceptional GTA work across a wide range of categories including </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teaching Innovation, Creating a Positive Learning Environment, Outstanding Teaching Delivery</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Digital Innovation</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, reflecting the full range of skills demonstrated by GTAs. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 11pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 11pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 350px; overflow: hidden; width: 234px;"><span><img height="350" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ckPvqhTQymSCZ9q4O83rtYizMU33XIUUIrI6LbjV4h54sZjzAf3oUD__7HWaBMHwYCJndmO_6wL9Z5pXW2HznymZY9fxQHkn9qTSzqCAxjR37jzYvYo19jt9bU-gkDH-OW1KVA5Smc3G4S_vfvRfy58" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="234" /></span></span></span></p><span><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In addition to GTA Awards, </span><a href="https://staff.sheffield.ac.uk/elevate/development/hea" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">HEA recognition</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is an integral pathway to career development. All HEA fellowships can be used to support job and promotion applications across the Higher Education (HE) sector, and the scheme is recognised internationally. To promote this to GTAs in a timely manner, both new and returning MEE GTAs are given a brief introduction to the HEA fellowship scheme during their Induction. From here, GTAs are also signposted to the</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2993074453771385350/1815545180423770303?hl=en-GB#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Elevate </span><a href="https://mydevelopment.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/event/d9f87193-d75d-4284-b1b4-8234516e98f4" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Foundation Pathway</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><a href="https://mydevelopment.csod.com/samldefault.aspx?returnurl=%252fDeepLink%252fProcessRedirect.aspx%253fmodule%253d41" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Personal Pathway Explorer</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> workshops</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> as an induction to the schemes and their requirements. They are also able to attend </span><a href="https://mydevelopment.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/event/e8c3b47d-7b20-4cfe-b315-f0ecdc76ce16" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Write On Workshops</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> which are writing retreats where Elevate advisers are on hand to answer questions or give feedback. </span></span></p><span><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><a href="https://mydevelopment.csod.com/samldefault.aspx?returnurl=%252fDeepLink%252fProcessRedirect.aspx%253fmodule%253d42" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">STA (Sheffield Teaching Assistant) workshops</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">are a further part of offer to GTAs to help them gain skills and confidence and as a means for reflective learning. Specific workshops to support Global Engineering Challenge (GEC) and Engineering You’re Hired (EYH) weeks. These workshops have been tailored to these events to prepare GTAs for the work they will be doing during these weeks to support students. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 11pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 11pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 245px; overflow: hidden; width: 368px;"><span><img height="245" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/3ur1swO3vvvAd65b7oR4vy9EsxfRVCQ6GTRtusrhhtUYejNvHegjiw6iGBeYYE1Pt-ePmo2fjfd9pdFvfV7vwCeqXmgy3JeblK2--ob6R1gdXmoAl-hUSCEmSgCq9RHpSribIN6CcxAN7O9C5OsoRJU" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="368" /></span></span></span></p><span><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Work is being done to standardise support for GTAs across the institution, with the creation of a GTA Developer’s Network which includes members from 20 different departments to share good practice. The network has three areas of focus: recruitment, induction and management; training and support; and recognition and career development. Preexisting examples of</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2993074453771385350/1815545180423770303?hl=en-GB#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">department based best practice</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> will be used as the basis for developing subject specific pedagogical support and training for their GTAs.</span></span></p><span><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span>Alongside the support that is provided to GTAs by the staff, we also have frequent networking events. These events are designed to encourage GTAs to connect and provide an opportunity for them to forge supportive relationships with one another. While staff are always there to answer questions and provide guidance, we recognise that a network of peers can be much more beneficial to their development, so this is what we are aiming to create. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 11pt; margin-right: 11pt; margin-top: 0pt; margin: 0pt 11pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 296px; overflow: hidden; width: 445px;"><span><img height="296" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/qhtKwJKMDILoRRUNkr3Ufg-MrqgBOcL07Ld5kAdvlIsDHI9SLzz6Xl4mwRXIzxt9m34aQspr4UNQWAnasBUVXDwv1DKUbAVNFHc4vBjpVH8SxE7YSK2vqFSsU6McOADBx8T5kcR4Mv7YuOWCHgw_uLk" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="445" /></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you work with GTAs and are interested in finding out more about the support and developmental opportunities available to them you can join the</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2993074453771385350/1815545180423770303?hl=en-GB#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Advance HE Connect GTA Developers’ Network</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(advance-he.ac.uk)</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> which is a special interest group for all staff working in HE. If you work at the University of Sheffield and would be interested in inputting to future initiatives to support GTA professional development in teaching then please contact Gemma Gibson,</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2993074453771385350/1815545180423770303?hl=en-GB#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">g.e.gibson@sheffield.ac.uk</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (MEE) or Sarah Plumb,</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2993074453771385350/1815545180423770303?hl=en-GB#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">sarah.plumb@sheffield.ac.uk</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (Elevate).</span></span></p><br /></span>Michael Trikichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127599252475763534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-64253204523136061812023-11-27T10:01:00.087+00:002023-11-27T10:01:00.154+00:00Mapping the plastic waste produced from laboratory activities -the first step towards a sustainable lab<h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Post written by undergraduate student, Millie Newmarch. The project was supervised by </span><a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/people/academic-staff/eleni-routoula" style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Dr Eleni Routoula</a><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"> in the department of </span><a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe" style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Chemical and Biological Engineering</a><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">. </span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/research" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) research</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is crucial for realising a sustainable future, with numerous ongoing projects that contribute to the creation of a resource-efficient society. Specifically, </span><a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/research/themes/circular-economy" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sustainability (Circular Economy)</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is a key area of research with multiple academics running high-stake, external-facing projects in collaboration with industry. </span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-939cee5f-7fff-6afd-5d72-eb5d1015fd41"><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This research takes place in University labs, so an obvious question is, how sustainable is the work carried out? At the start of our work, a quick walk around the labs revealed a considerable amount of single-use plastic waste in the form of pipette tips, plastic tubes of various sizes and uses, culture plates and packaging.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reducing the overall environmental impact of single-use plastic is crucial for meeting net-zero targets. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Millie Newmarch</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> set out to investigate the issue in order to understand the plastic waste produced from laboratory activities, how it is handled, if (and how) it could be monitored, and whether strategies could be identified to reduce it. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Pie chart of plastic use data" height="319" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/TNj9R2z1z2NPHbAoFd5KmwrP42LE6jPQKIBfno6W5bAy9wJLU6_iGvkuXtR5ZAJevqq84t7Psp8R4Vg8JI58rXqJPeSLIitgVFZo9oFBysHerYR0W8n4R1MoF6xpzz0GJ2leLQgkSSL3Qn2wUQ6z2Q=w368-h319" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" title="Pie chart of plastic use data" width="368" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Disposable lab plastic items by quantity.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Initial findings indicated that waste produced from laboratory activities is poorly documented and so waste type, plastic composition and weight is impossible to determine accurately. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the CBE department and the combination of both taught and independent lab research, it is challenging to pinpoint specific waste streams and identify and implement monitoring, categorisation and recycling/minimisation solutions applicable to all activities. However, a Departmental structure offers a unique opportunity for identifying a fully-tailored approach towards single-use plastic waste. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This project consisted of three phases; identification of plastic types in waste streams (Phase 1), quantification of plastic per stream or type (Phase 2), and identification of applicable minimisation strategies (Phase 3). </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The results were illuminating. Single-use plastics accounted for over 14% of all orders, with pipette tips accounting for 65% of all single-use items, followed by gloves and microtubes (1-2mL volume). From the data we estimate reducing pipette tip usage by 5% could result in a saving of 24,500 tips and £850.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="321" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/Z3Ar5m_qeenb-60X3FLaHvXdOVToVh3riQiRsf0JMsp3LV_YWnZvZP28YDzcVNPIkx4PEt5cPfUPmezrZ0mfrSdJXD8qCg2T_JcMVGE84ehsUcb0jOaPvAgzqY89XZbpZ0HKL9_nUd6tcaVV2BHGLw=w356-h321" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="356" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Disposable lab plastic items by weight.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When plastic waste was quantified based on weight rather than quantity, pipette tips fell to the fifth largest factor, behind micro-well plates, centrifuge tubes, stripettes and gloves. This ranking change indicated the importance of choosing metrics to make decisions. Based on this information, simply minimising the use of pipette tips would not be the best approach when a holistic approach to plastic reduction is considered. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reducing the impact of single use plastics through minimisation, reuse, centralised ordering, sustainable sourcing, improved experimental/laboratory activity planning and end-of-life management strategies were identified. However, these strategies are fraught with challenges due to cross-contamination and the unquantifiable presence of hazardous substances in waste streams. As a result the reuse of single-use items is unlikely to have a large impact. Instead, responsible procurement practices and devising effective end-of-life solutions should be prioritised until more feasible recycling and reuse solutions emerge. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That being said, this project highlighted the need for more in-depth understanding of specific laboratory activities, with the aim of developing waste minimisation strategies applicable to waste streams produced from different areas of research and types of laboratory activities. </span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A future aspect of this work would be to characterise waste per lab or academic team, in order to identify common (or not) aspects and put waste production into perspective, or propose more tailored strategies on a case-by-case basis.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This work successfully scraped the tip of the iceberg by providing insight into a little before considered waste. It would be interesting for each department in the faculty (and different faculties, and different institutions) to run this assessment using the same or similar measurement parameters (quantity, weight). This would help characterise the plastic waste streams from laboratory activities under different lights, and come up with viable mitigation strategies.</span></div></span>Michael Trikichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127599252475763534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-52446904490516919962023-11-13T09:30:00.005+00:002023-12-13T09:12:50.882+00:00Hazard Lab<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This blog post was written by Laura Mason, Departmental Health and Safety Officer for MEE at the </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">University </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of Sheffield - </span><a href="mailto:l.mason@sheffield.ac.uk" style="font-family: arial; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">laura.mason@sheffield.ac.uk</span></a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">From the moment that students begin their engineering degrees at the University of Sheffield, MEE are </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">focused </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">providing world leading practical education that will equip graduates with the necessary skills </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">and experience </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">they </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">need when entering the workforce. A big part of this is to ensure that health and safety </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">knowledge and </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">practice is </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">considered integral to the way we work. Safety is already embedded into all of </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">our sessions and pre </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">and post lab </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">activities - but we want more. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hazard lab is part of a new health and safety education initiative that is being developed as a series of </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">buildable </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">blocks that can be used across all of our engineering disciplines.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hazard lab sits as part of our introduction labs and ran for the first time in 2023 during week 1 of teaching. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As a </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">trial the session </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">was delivered to our 1st year aerospace, civil and structural, interdisciplinary and </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">mechanical </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">engineering </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">degree </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">students of which there are around 800. A teaching space that will be used </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">at some point by these </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">students </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">was set up with a series of common hazards for them to identify.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Why?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">There are several aims of the session:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">1. To familiarise students with a laboratory/workshop environment - the building and its labs can be large </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"> and </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">unfamiliar when you are just getting settled into university life.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">2. To help students identify common causes of hazard within a lab environment and how they can be </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"> controlled.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">3. To highlight that although these hazards may always be present, there will be controls in place to </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"> help </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">minimise </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">risk.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">4. To make safety fun and memorable!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">How?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">9 common hazards were identified and information sheets were developed for each hazard; working at</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">height, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">manual handling, slips and trips, chemicals and harmful substances, fire, machinery, electricity, </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">noise </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">and </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">personal protective equipment. The information sheets needed to be concise and engaging whilst </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">furnishing </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">students with the basic knowledge required</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><img height="510" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ol26UfnolgiAW9v-GeBUCHdAMZWw2JJtE51zpapLnzmZviop0KOK9997kemHCr0KseeismyjryBzdV8gwZtL-kqKTF8ADRR5xNdoI9TIAYfJ7qzaOUVNOnTnhzixzbxSmcGHapLM6oxXha3Kx268cUM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px;" width="378" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Heath and Stacey's Hazard Lab information sheets.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Once the common hazards had been selected a space was set up in part of our workshop with the hazards </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">included. To help bring the scene to life the newest members of the MEE safety team (Heath and Stacey) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">were </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">brought in to assist after it was decided it might be inappropriate to use ‘real’ staff.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is what the students would see when entering Hazard Lab for the in person segment of the session. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Students were timetabled 20 at a time for 20 minutes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; border: none; color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: arial; height: 232px; overflow: hidden; width: 484px;"><img height="246.03869450161716" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/NduNovSjfbvA_fCrkkzizeitCutq1tX03hmAWW_iMCX1cTty96GVoQwmKRvQy4OUXKjXPMkPOP4eHs8Q-nAVDLrGJVCHayXs6D0mq-d_nrCj_GymuJgjRv8bNrM8_4DbUlhxkuB1qnSwDY795-rys6M" style="margin-left: -37.5972px; margin-top: -14.0387px;" width="553.481439853624" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">After a brief introduction to the session the students were given 5 minutes to study the scene and chat</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">about </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">what </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">they could see and why they thought there was a hazard. To conclude the in person session </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">the students </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">were split into two groups to discuss with staff what they could see and why they thought it was </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">a hazard.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The second part of the session was online. Here the students accessed a digital version of the scene that </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">they </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">could pan around and included sound effects and hot links to the information sheets. This part took </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">around 30 </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre;">minutes.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To ensure the students did actually read the information sheets a short quiz concluded the online session, </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">with successful completion required to pass.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 24px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b style="background-color: #29343a;">Conclusions and what next?</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Overall the sessions ran smoothly, with initial feedback positive, although a</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> worrying number of students </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-size: 13.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">think that the safest way to work a height is to use the biggest ladder that you can find.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There are plans for a</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> larger, more immersive scene that students could walk through. This could provide a more immersive experience than a limited static scene crammed with hazards. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-family: arial;"><span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Work on how to scale the event up for next year whilst being able to reach all first year students within a week has begun. The way that the students approach the session also need some </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reconfiguring</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; t</span></span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">his year many students had already attempted the online part of the session before arriving at the in person event. Typically students are expected to completed some pre lab work online prior to attendance. A way of replicating the </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #29343a; color: white; font-size: 10pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">same process would be beneficial for the students and help to ensure a consistency of approach across our teaching.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p>Laura Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16475504586541948141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-6515694729380790982022-07-26T10:33:00.001+01:002022-07-26T10:33:00.176+01:00Lights Lab Live – conducting a remote/interactive LED lab<p><b>This blog post comes from Dr Gavin Williams, Senior University Teacher with both MEE and EEE departments at the University of Sheffield - <u>g.williams@sheffield.ac.uk</u></b></p><p>The Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) department conducts extensive optoelectronics research [1]. This research focus influences our undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, where we make extensive use of The Diamond’s teaching cleanroom.</p><p>This facility was forced off-limits to students during the Covid 19 pandemic. Instead, we have been running live online laboratory (lab) sessions. This article describes one such lab, in which we investigate the electrical and optical properties of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Even though the laboratory has now fully reopened in-person, a similar activity has been used for Recruitment/Outreach and has been delivered to over 100 sixth-form students during lunchtime ‘Taster’ sessions. The remote access lab technology enables participation by more students than ever before, increasing our geographical reach in encouraging access to higher education.</p><p>The system (Fig.1) has two light sources: a red/green/blue (RGB) LED and a white LED. The RGB LED is powered via an Arduino Uno running code that allows the pseudo-brightness of the three channels to be independent controlled by adjustment of the pulse width modulation (PWM) signals [2]. The signal to the red channel is displayed on an oscilloscope. The white LED is powered via a source-measure unit (SMU). A fibre-coupled CCD optical spectrometer is positioned to capture the emission from both LEDs. A webcam is positioned to show the two LEDs, the fibre and, in the background, the oscilloscope display. The instruments are all under software control [3,4,5] running on a local PC. The PC can be accessed remotely, enabling the student to configure and control the various components.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2h5b3_-5Sy_pfxNUx0BaaKR4GwRHaf8M8JzYp25cT12rizVcGsftFCRIV2pLsqyFxCItyDlAK7Pk63Ka3_brYs9UkRGR8SP0RlFGxAVAMOjpr0zO2GZETeemWOyejgZNajtOL1i-Kv-bCp7ByvsaNdSwj0jzinLHMogRkJVLZZffgYLZj_iubiEW/s1095/Gavin%20blog%20fig%201.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1095" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2h5b3_-5Sy_pfxNUx0BaaKR4GwRHaf8M8JzYp25cT12rizVcGsftFCRIV2pLsqyFxCItyDlAK7Pk63Ka3_brYs9UkRGR8SP0RlFGxAVAMOjpr0zO2GZETeemWOyejgZNajtOL1i-Kv-bCp7ByvsaNdSwj0jzinLHMogRkJVLZZffgYLZj_iubiEW/w400-h229/Gavin%20blog%20fig%201.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>Figure 1: Schematic system diagram<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>There are a number of experiments that the student can perform with the system (Fig. 2). The typical current-voltage (IV) characteristics of an LED can be measured by configuring the SMU to perform a voltage sweep (Fig.2f). PWM brightness control can be investigated using the red channel of the RGB LED. The emission spectra of the RGB and white LEDs can be recorded (Fig.2e). With the prior collection of a ‘null’ background spectrum, it is possible to display the position of the lights in CIE colour space [6]. This enable the student to explore the generation of white light by two methods: by combining RGB or by realising that the ‘white’ LED is, in fact a blue LED plus a yellow phosphor [7]. One deficiency of the system is the fact that the camera is easily saturated, hence the colour is often bleached. However, once this fact is explained to the students, it provides an opportunity to discuss the operation of charge-coupled devices (CCD).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqO-L5dXJ46faoO7JplEjemdOtdxbYMDQG3iFFlN5seH9UM9yn8gjY4K0AywjLXNknJZQGGLgnq-gBj7EOD1AjMXmdB82IrFnTDy7JPPDWUmxH4drxWWOq9ulUMEk0jg4SAl_ZBeKdKwikH3-wfnFh2-IYflW5PRcLDtzqGaVjdEMoXwFFtGYTEyi/s1304/Gavin%20blog%20fig%202.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1304" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqO-L5dXJ46faoO7JplEjemdOtdxbYMDQG3iFFlN5seH9UM9yn8gjY4K0AywjLXNknJZQGGLgnq-gBj7EOD1AjMXmdB82IrFnTDy7JPPDWUmxH4drxWWOq9ulUMEk0jg4SAl_ZBeKdKwikH3-wfnFh2-IYflW5PRcLDtzqGaVjdEMoXwFFtGYTEyi/w640-h362/Gavin%20blog%20fig%202.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div>Figure 2: Screengrab of remote desktop showing the multiple applications<br />a) Camera view, showing LEDs, optical fibre and oscilloscope, b) Circuit simulator (Tinkercad), c) Arduino IDE code, d) Arduino serial monitor, e) Optical spectrometer interface, f) SMU control<br /><p>The lab enhances some of the formal aspects of our courses. It help to demystify the physics of p-n junctions (diodes) by enabling them to equate photon energy to the band gap of the semiconductor. At a system level, it provides a simple example of PWM control. The students collect their own unique data sets, which they analyse and plot within a lab report – this is a much better than giving all students the same data set to analyse! Even more broadly, the lab gives the students an appreciation of the complexity of colour vision and of the world of detail behind components that can be purchased for just a few pence. </p><div><b>References</b></div><div>[1] The University of Sheffield, <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/eee/research/semiconductor-materials-devices">https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/eee/research/semiconductor-materials-devices</a> (Date accessed: 7 July 2022).</div><div>[2] Williams GL and Funnell A, Tinkercad RGB LED control,</div><div><a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/things/gLLlv7trV8e">https://www.tinkercad.com/things/gLLlv7trV8e</a> (Date accessed: 7 July 2021).</div><div>[3] Arduino IDE, <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/">https://www.arduino.cc/</a> (Date accessed: 7 July 2021).</div><div>[4] Keysight Quick IV SMU control software, <a href="https://www.keysight.com">https://www.keysight.com</a> (Date accessed: 7 July 2022).</div><div>[5] Thorlabs OSA software, <a href="https://www.thorlabs.de">https://www.thorlabs.de</a> (Date accessed: 7 July 2022).</div><div>[6] CIE 1931 Colour Space, Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIE_1931_color_space">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIE_1931_color_space</a></div><div>(Date accessed: 7 July 2022).</div><div>[7] Nobel Prize in Physics (2014), <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2014/press-release/">https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2014/press-release/</a> (Date accessed: 18 June 2021).</div>Adam Funnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385346536425474998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-60119408881802794662022-07-08T10:17:00.001+01:002022-07-08T10:17:00.177+01:00One Kit to Rule Them All - Designing Inclusive Lab Kits Across a Whole Programme<p><b>Adam Funnell, Senior University Teacher in MEE, discusses how take home lab kits can be enhanced through programme level design of activities and equipment.</b></p><p>The growth in using Take Home Kits to deliver practical engineering teaching is one of our biggest successes and innovations that we have kept from the covid-19 pandemic. When the labs were closed to on-site teaching, we found kits to be a great method for delivering practical learning outcomes across a whole range of courses, but especially in electronics and mechatronics. In activities with intended learning outcomes around practical integration of subsystems and open-ended investigations, kits provide an ideal delivery method. There are further benefits to meeting a
range of student learning styles, increasing opportunities for practical learning, and inclusive teaching practice. </p><p>It is common to use kits to illustrate individual experiments or even for modules, but it is rare to work across
modules to create a single curated set of parts for use in multiple circumstances. The figure below shows how practical activities (or "labs") are traditionally designed within engineering programmes. Each activity sits within a related module, or perhaps a cluster of labs is created to sit alongside basic knowledge transfer content modules. But in either approach, there is no developmental thread of practical skills, and no co-ordination between the different activities across all of the supporting content to make a coherent practical programme aligned in time with course content.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLbHo-fsnAiY3kcTgHSk-Rqnv05SXXSC5kQ_4219H2f5QLjXzzG9DTjfs4S1_jjHWBPfbeyXsmyo0Au9_rE6EHVwV0fG7T2Rnur_jvL8MWi00La8LvCjxX56cPz2X6AMGFD2fI1u1kAoFCLlvvLBhM2oz6_1f3hxCePn45ZNAYx6SF0l072-UKdi6c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1130" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLbHo-fsnAiY3kcTgHSk-Rqnv05SXXSC5kQ_4219H2f5QLjXzzG9DTjfs4S1_jjHWBPfbeyXsmyo0Au9_rE6EHVwV0fG7T2Rnur_jvL8MWi00La8LvCjxX56cPz2X6AMGFD2fI1u1kAoFCLlvvLBhM2oz6_1f3hxCePn45ZNAYx6SF0l072-UKdi6c=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>By giving responsibility for
practical engineering education to a dedicated team, learning outcomes can be analysed for overlap and
complementary activities. This in turn means that a single set of equipment can be specified and certified safe
for take home operations, providing both time and cost efficiencies for staff. We selected a range of passive components, along with an Arduino Uno microcontroller. On top of the basic resistors, capacitors and diodes, we also chose solar panels and small DC motors to enable more exciting small projects to be delivered.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-db6ed1f6-7fff-8b21-b3ea-ff0e3d108c93"><img height="400" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/u0PjOocjHJICqRO6qUSX6UDOu2utigqdj7TghHwWHrXanMIKqBD8LXf9OTA6iEvWrh7AYKWvy9jrcolIozKHPWnevSWoOXnpvtkxBLqfmD5Bavx6PRLsx1AmYFQnc-92ogDWEy8XLqsiz4a9BwGTjA=w318-h400" width="318" /></span></p><p>We can develop pathways between each of the practical activities in the kit, to ensure that skills that are carefully shown at basic levels can be applied in future lab activities and reinforce learning.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-R0Z82exEYR_EDH87kBw-8195vjn1bIlLlYv6FnyRh6-UojjqQrNtrEpjkL4YplGGK4gGjsDjNc-k9lcgC1DxjTxNfEBLddpyKOErV1O6c0i0ocPXJOZfQHzqDVImG9nAFo7tOCkAS8hsdldflf6UnYGJ1wR4xNCtvK3UpTlVAMHysu-Eevj9AXw/s1078/Kit%20blog%20fig%202.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1078" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-R0Z82exEYR_EDH87kBw-8195vjn1bIlLlYv6FnyRh6-UojjqQrNtrEpjkL4YplGGK4gGjsDjNc-k9lcgC1DxjTxNfEBLddpyKOErV1O6c0i0ocPXJOZfQHzqDVImG9nAFo7tOCkAS8hsdldflf6UnYGJ1wR4xNCtvK3UpTlVAMHysu-Eevj9AXw/w640-h376/Kit%20blog%20fig%202.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><p>The figure above shows how practical exercises are structured from basic tasks, and how the activities interrelate with a structure of pre-requisites. Importantly, the practical activities spread across the content modules, shown in red at the bottom right of each activity. While the practical exercises form a coherent pathway on their own, they also line up exactly with the content delivery from each core content module.</p><p>For example, a basic activity common to all exercises is basic microcontroller programming, including input and output connected to electronic circuits. This activity can be followed by an exercise in analogue voltage reading, which in turn can be extended to creating and characterising a simple voltmeter. All of the exercises to this point support a "general skills" module and a "programming" module, by providing hands-on experience of working with real equipment. </p><p>However, the next activity can use the voltmeter that students designed, to measure the voltage drop across different coloured LEDs. The fundamental device physics governing the colour of semiconductor devices can be explored with an engaging practical activity. Students can use the voltmeter that they built themselves to explore how the different semiconductor bandgap voltages correspond to different coloured light emitters. This activity supports a more fundamental device physics module within the programme, yet can be served by just the same practical take home kit, and within a coherent pathway of practical exercises.</p><p>Similarly other pathways can be created on transistor exercises to link in with both circuit simulation tutorials and fundamental device behaviour; and with solar cell characterisation to explore basic properties before integrating into a full system. By designing the practical exercises across a whole programme at once, practical learning becomes integrated, effective and efficient.</p><p>Inclusivity is arguably the most important aspect to design into our lab programmes. We want all students to be able to participate in practical work, with no barriers to gaining important experience. In our analysis, Take Home Kits offer students flexibility to work around caring responsibilities, and enable students to work at their own pace in an environment that is comfortable to them.</p><p>However, we discovered important suggestions for improving accessible lab practice while delivering our teaching, including:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Many of our students have visual impairments, including colourblindness. This presents an issue when working with small components, which may have tiny labels or colour codes to identify them. When working in the lab, this would be mitigated by using multimeters with large screen displays to measure resistors and capacitors, and confirm their value. Portable multimeters can be distributed to students that require them, at the university's cost to ensure access for all.</li><li>Every take home kit must be distributed with a resealable box to hold all of the parts. Some of our students may have young children and/or pets, who should not be left with small parts due to the choking and sharp pointed hazards they present. A strong cardboard box is sufficient and cost-effective for this in our experience, so long as it is resealable.</li><li>The primary enhancement to accessibility of practical work is allowing fully flexible working hours, in addition to or instead of fixed timetable slots. However, the students concerned must also have access to staff support. It is most effective to provide support in real time, using video calls or similar, to help troubleshoot with building circuits and systems. This means staff need to show some degree of flexibility with their time, which in turn needs understanding from leadership teams regarding their workload and time allocation.</li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>Overall, we see Take Home Kits as just one part of a whole package of practical training for engineering education. We are never going to stop delivering in-person practical classes in our laboratories, but along with remote access practicals, simulations and interactive video simulacrums, Take Home Kits help us embed practical education right at the heart of engineering programmes.</p><p>You can read our full paper presented at IEEE EDUCON here:<br /><a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9766600">One kit to rule them all: designing take home lab kits at programme level | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore</a></p><br />Adam Funnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385346536425474998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-24239803797859129562022-02-19T22:41:00.013+00:002022-02-20T20:37:30.450+00:00Adding depth to engineering educationTeaching engineering often involves using pictures. These pictures could depict the mechanics of some physical phenomena with a sketch, describe the relationship between different parameters with a graph or illustrate the interactions between components of a complex system with a diagram. If you imagine how you would explain any of the classic concepts of engineering science, things like bending moments in a beam, the development of a fluid boundary layer or the voltage and current in an electrical circuit, you will most likely include sketching schematic pictures to represent these systems as part of the process.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Shear_Moment_Diagram.svg/600px-Shear_Moment_Diagram.svg.png"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="600" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Shear_Moment_Diagram.svg/600px-Shear_Moment_Diagram.svg.png" width="200" /></a>
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Laminar_boundary_layer_scheme.svg/483px-Laminar_boundary_layer_scheme.svg.png"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="483" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Laminar_boundary_layer_scheme.svg/483px-Laminar_boundary_layer_scheme.svg.png" width="200" /></a>
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Ohm%27s_Law_with_Voltage_source_TeX.svg/330px-Ohm%27s_Law_with_Voltage_source_TeX.svg.png"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="330" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Ohm%27s_Law_with_Voltage_source_TeX.svg/330px-Ohm%27s_Law_with_Voltage_source_TeX.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Two dimensional representations are ubiquitous in the communications between engineers. Yet the world in which engineers apply their craft is, more often than not, three dimensional. So why is it that 2D drawings are so much more widely used to convey engineering concepts than 3D ones? </div><div><br /></div><div>For a long time the tools available to the engineering educator, such as notebooks, printouts, drawing boards and whiteboards, have been limited to flat surfaces. Common devices used for digital methods of communication, such as monitors, mobile phones and projectors are also mostly flat surfaces. But that isn’t necessarily going to remain the case and there are indications that 3D could become the new standard in how ideas are communicated. Engineering educators need to pay attention to this. </div><div><br /></div><div>Firstly, although most digital devices have a flat surface to display their content, they have the advantage of being able to represent 3D objects by dynamically orienting the projection of the 3D object onto the 2D screen. It is only recently that computing hardware has become powerful enough and software has been efficient enough to make the creation and manipulation of 3D content widely accessible. <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/">TinkerCAD</a> offers the creation of 3D objects with nothing more than access to a web browser and passing 3D content between different systems is now almost a turnkey process.</div><div><br /></div><div>Secondly, students are much more likely to consume their content through a digital device rather than anything paper based, giving wider access to the potential to display 3D objects. This has been a clear trend for a number of years now, but the Covid-19 pandemic has cemented the superiority of the digital display of teaching material compared to the printed page. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, the potential future utilisation of virtual and augmented reality for all manner of common tasks cannot be ignored. While in its infancy, especially for teaching, the plummeting cost of VR hardware coupled with the noticeable investment being made by the large tech giants is an indication that this technology could become a mainstream component of how people interact. </div><div><br /></div><div>The limitations of traditional tools to articulate visual concepts have influenced our methods for communicating, such that the use of 2D visualisation is completely ingrained in our professional lives. I was taught engineering using 2D, so my mind thinks about explaining things using 2D and so the cycle continues. But as we are now all acutely aware, disruptive technologies can change traditional industries rapidly, and those that don’t pay attention get left behind. </div><div><br /></div><div>As with implementing any new technology, there is a cost in developing the skills required utilise the tools. To justify that investment of resources, there has to be a clear benefit. In many cases, the presentation of information in 2D will be preferable to 3D visualisation, as 2D schematics can be used to make complex systems straightforward to understand without the burden of having to manipulate the image to look around it. There are plenty of examples of the arguably unnecessary use of 3D to convey information where 2D would have worked equally well. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the Fluids Engineering lab, we were very excited to create and share with students, in advance of their experiments, a digital 3D version of our teaching wind tunnels. This allowed them to rotate around and zoom in and out of the equipment. The idea was to provide an introduction to the apparatus so students could prepare for the lab class. The tool is very impressive. However, the ability to rotate around the equipment and zoom into and out of the 3D object isn’t enormously helpful, as students using the real equipment will typically stand in front of the fixed equipment and do not experience the other viewpoints. Manipulating the 3D object on the screen is quite fun, and there is an advantage in making an activity more engaging even if the extent of the communication of content isn’t enhanced. But if that is the justification, we should be conscious of this rather than kidding ourselves that we are adding any substantial value to the learning.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwRRoYCnwxa8ZrE33ts_yf7f41qr15uqQv92iOEC80MeFAbOAbIdVjJgaxsK6PUlT4ePUUtaRePg3udnIIQsrH2gTi76sI9wC4WCi4dKZ3Rg0qaaDInEuaB4NmzcmToD01zKCuwEu6NRgU6ajYw7Q_PnxDx8AlBkClJiKvcniG8jYKZQn0nhDB3iyjXg=s1432" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1432" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwRRoYCnwxa8ZrE33ts_yf7f41qr15uqQv92iOEC80MeFAbOAbIdVjJgaxsK6PUlT4ePUUtaRePg3udnIIQsrH2gTi76sI9wC4WCi4dKZ3Rg0qaaDInEuaB4NmzcmToD01zKCuwEu6NRgU6ajYw7Q_PnxDx8AlBkClJiKvcniG8jYKZQn0nhDB3iyjXg=w400-h278" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As I am particularly interested in practical engineering education, I’m aware of the increased use of 3D photography and videos to provide virtual lab tours. Just type “360 lab tour” into google and you will find a plethora of examples. But is there any educational value in providing students a tour of the lab in advance of their arrival? There is definitely a marketing opportunity to show off impressive facilities and the possibility of students being less anxious about entering an unfamiliar environment. But I question if there is much learning from knowing the relative positions of the furniture or pieces of equipment in 3D that couldn’t be achieved through simpler means, like a map. Or signs. When students come into my Fluids Engineering lab, they can usually find the piece of equipment they are looking for after a quick scan around the room, because they are aware of what it looks like from a 2D photograph they have been provided with in advance. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I’m constantly on the lookout for examples of where using 3D has a distinct advantage over other approaches. So far I have two, which I will offer here, but I’m keen to hear if people have others. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">To convey a sense of scale </h3><div>Engineers can work on some pretty big stuff. I can remember being taken to <a href="https://www.drax.com/">Drax power station</a> as part of my undergraduate studies and being awed by the size of the various fans and pipes and other massive engineering things. When I led the programme for Energy Engineering I would always take my students to a wind farm. While you can explain that large turbines have 100 meter blades spinning at 150 miles an hour, to really sense what it feels like you need to stand underneath one. If you have never done it, I’d highly recommend it. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWhbNPQpxctRHiLPd2fDmpzTphJKgVPWHSSMIAvQMhxq6fCj7OrFo5gyhRhFOVeRT-J3b21MGVPfpSZtxpkIJelM73tKVnvyLd7wSE2krdr0KgpIZr1yjNZr0ryWabxaqD9gqdoVJZQOYfAlXqYDT3KVkkFPwqNsUnUOFOhVcuqINeKDdWC07cfKz8ug=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWhbNPQpxctRHiLPd2fDmpzTphJKgVPWHSSMIAvQMhxq6fCj7OrFo5gyhRhFOVeRT-J3b21MGVPfpSZtxpkIJelM73tKVnvyLd7wSE2krdr0KgpIZr1yjNZr0ryWabxaqD9gqdoVJZQOYfAlXqYDT3KVkkFPwqNsUnUOFOhVcuqINeKDdWC07cfKz8ug=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Obtaining a similar experience of scale and awe can be achieved using VR headsets. The sensation of being physically present isn’t quite the same, but the accessibility is unrivalled. Taking large groups of students on field trips is expensive and an organisational nightmare. Even relatively local sites will be a challenge to find the time to accommodate. But with a £300 headset students could travel to a range of different engineering facilities across the planet and once the content is created, the scalability is virtually unlimited. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">When 2D schematics do not represent 3D objects</h3><div>One of the more enthusiastically received experiments we do in the Fluids Engineering lab is the generation of smoke rigs. We can make small ones with custom built smoke ring generators, or giant ones with a plastic dustbin into which I cut hole in the bottom. There is something mesmerising about watching the smoke gently precess down the length of the lab, holding together with stability afforded by the vortex. </div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYIPUCUNTD60uiFfGSVl_x_mt_ge6tghF5aCxfYtmVORIFe8Bpj-WNpfBIWQJd5b11rSQrnoLQz35zY1JHGS1g8t-iPQd0J3byKsJWJFQsZAKsszm2hGTr66vSJZ1CnBcr4dYoroX2OdbhEIGK3aqKa2CrYFp09SYBOnVLwXGU5ERjeOvdVf-2EmNqHA=s1838" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="1838" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYIPUCUNTD60uiFfGSVl_x_mt_ge6tghF5aCxfYtmVORIFe8Bpj-WNpfBIWQJd5b11rSQrnoLQz35zY1JHGS1g8t-iPQd0J3byKsJWJFQsZAKsszm2hGTr66vSJZ1CnBcr4dYoroX2OdbhEIGK3aqKa2CrYFp09SYBOnVLwXGU5ERjeOvdVf-2EmNqHA=w388-h258" width="388" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I ask students if they had ever seen anything like it before during their studies of fluid mechanics and I am surprised with how frequently the answer is that they have not. I am surprised because they definitely have, as similar structures appear as “recirculation zones” in the step where pipes expand from a smaller to larger diameter - a reasonably classic piece of fluid mechanics that all students do learn about. But after some further questioning, it occurred to me that the lack of recognition is caused by the overwhelmingly common presentation of this structure in 2D. It had compromised their understanding of the actual physical manifestation of the system. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikJ2_JkEkS0p6dIL8j_Smj5dLHGVFG1ngWwdMvA_VIXP3GT4Oxi1zdk_Ow4OHJU_POnxPbgMEmIfcZUmc5ZDKYC5EfGWK2nb-9d85Oq5Sf-BWgopPJHvZ8MCDNeMwjzikyvORt1cdLpG2klSAeSK8F-hgOvN-pmoFe4ozVH3sXgazz397JYnBON9iSVw=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikJ2_JkEkS0p6dIL8j_Smj5dLHGVFG1ngWwdMvA_VIXP3GT4Oxi1zdk_Ow4OHJU_POnxPbgMEmIfcZUmc5ZDKYC5EfGWK2nb-9d85Oq5Sf-BWgopPJHvZ8MCDNeMwjzikyvORt1cdLpG2klSAeSK8F-hgOvN-pmoFe4ozVH3sXgazz397JYnBON9iSVw=w356-h214" width="356" /></a></div><br /><div>Shown above is a slice through a circular pipe. The recirculation zones are the ovals and this is pretty much universally how they are depicted in all explanatory teaching material. But it is just a slice to allow it to be shown in 2D. In the real, 3D pipe this 2D cross section is rotated around the axis and the recirculation zones take on the shape of a doughnut, which an Engineering would call a "torus" because we are cool, and is almost identical to the structure seen in a smoke ring. </div><div><br /></div><div>I created the 2D water flowing form a smaller to larger diameter pipe schematic shown above in 2010 using open source vector graphics tool <a href="https://inkscape.org/">Inkscape</a>. I chose 2D because this is the way I had been taught about recirculation zones and because building 3D content was prohibitively out of my expertise. However, if I were to prepare this teaching material in 2022, I would consider doing it in 3D using easily accessible, simply to use and free tools. In about 60 seconds and with nothing more than a web browser, I can create a torus in <a href="https://www.tinkercad.com/">TinkerCAD</a>, download the .STL and upload it to <a href="https://sketchfab.com/">Sketchfab</a> to embed within a webpage. </div><div><br /></div></div>
<div class="sketchfab-embed-wrapper"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; xr-spatial-tracking" allowfullscreen="" execution-while-not-rendered="" execution-while-out-of-viewport="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/a999e8a217ba476392334af79d8e296f/embed" title="A recirculation zone as a demonstration" web-share="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" xr-spatial-tracking=""> </iframe></div> <p style="color: #4a4a4a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin: 5px; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/a-recirculation-zone-as-a-demonstration-a999e8a217ba476392334af79d8e296f?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=a999e8a217ba476392334af79d8e296f" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> A recirculation zone as a demonstration </a> by <a href="https://sketchfab.com/andrewgarrard?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=a999e8a217ba476392334af79d8e296f" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> Professor Garrard </a> on <a href="https://sketchfab.com?utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=share-popup&utm_content=a999e8a217ba476392334af79d8e296f" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Sketchfab</a></p></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-36026262846364374272022-01-17T11:48:00.007+00:002024-01-12T13:15:12.408+00:00Our strategy for student feedback in MEE<div class="separator"></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>If a tree falls and no one’s around to hand it a feedback survey, does it make a sound?<br /></i><br />Here in MEE (Multidisciplinary Engineering Education), we pride ourselves on giving students engaging and valuable learning experiences during practical lab classes. But if we don’t adequately listen to student viewpoints then how can we be so sure their experiences are good ones?<br /><br />Yes, we do have major centralised student questionnaires, but these provide only sparse information every 6 months/year. Plenty of holes still remain within our feedback net, which means lots of valuable information is not being caught by our existing systems.<br /><br /><b>MEE is therefore launching its inaugural Feedback Strategy!<br /></b><br />This strategy puts a coherent structure to how we deal with student feedback, and identify areas to make improvements to how MEE operates. MEE aspires to be leaders for student experience, so let’s keep going!<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The feedback strategy not only means refining our net for catching different types of feedback, but it will also help organise the way we deal with the various streams of incoming feedback data. This will make us much more effective at implementing good ideas arising from feedback, and also to nurture a positive feedback-culture which students feel a part of.<br /><br /><b>…….so what does it look like?</b></span><ul><li><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial;">A new MEE-wide feedback portal (via our virtual learning environment)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial;">Collection of all feedback data to a central hub</span></li><li><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial;">A feedback actioning plan</span></li><li><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial;"><span>A large internal instructions </span>document (to outline how it all works)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial;">Other future projects or research that investigate student experience</span></li></ul><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;">For feedback to be useful we have to follow through its entire life-cycle. These 4 components are what underpins the strategy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img height="289" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FVEChGOl1h-AshRzMVLtN9MXjNecieBvPF3klBDCDUDYtwpIeinUuVcOQWd28HNpL5153HNYJ9g2JJ5QFH6kEEi7f2rWZclTbbXInR1-QGQ9UofSauqiHwrhiODtaGF7_nEg5lMK=w318-h289" style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="318" /></span></p><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Gathering feedback.</b><br /><br />Most of our feedback currently comes in waves coinciding with the 6 month/annual student surveys. I struggle to remember the labs I taught 3 days ago, so I imagine that all the juicy details of a student's experience from the past year are hard for them to recall at survey time. In addition, these surveys offer only small windows of opportunity for students to voice their opinions to us, so...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">... the idea now is to <b>create an open-door policy</b> for feedback.</div><br />Soon, every lab subfolder in our virtual learning environment will contain a link/QR code connecting students directly to the new portal called the “<b>Feedback Letterbox</b>”.</span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-997a40fa-7fff-0ead-32d6-3111fbe5d8be"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; font-family: arial; height: 371px; overflow: hidden; width: 602px;"><img height="371" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_ACNdMes3wHnrjnnTOU5fk9VkizA5hdzTwwMBj_a6u-nf_WiO5UcLvoHs0XNS57LiJnEX8MLnJtOODHSKmRjqgpK51EXNqaZEuFzVzhUD_nPp-wh4-fSMzzAZGQczqdLcFQ7Bbcy" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="602" /></span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="245" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wlf_gn5mqb8R-UmisFuBQmZkBtclIqVnsmoD6LQR_iIhA4Vgxv8CnIuWS0UETO-0IYNc_kUMd4DJgqRnGyZq-xI9tBIguuJ_rhif7OAM2LJ6N40PTRxtjPIopORPidWLnDIOcgao" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="318" /></span><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: initial; display: inline-block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden;"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div>The Feedback Letterbox is a <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/meestudenthandbook/home/feedback-letterbox" target="_blank">page on MEEs website</a> which has a <b>super-simple and non-scary</b> text box for students to provide feedback in whatever form they choose, on any matter relating to labs. </div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The Feedback Letterbox is:</span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Permanently open</span></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Anonymous</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre;">Easy & Quick</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre;">Linked to the QR code</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: arial; text-align: left;">The QR codes could also be placed at various locations around the building, and attached to our Smiley-Face displays (described </span><a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2021/04/smiley-faces-what-can-instant-student.html" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; text-align: left;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: arial; text-align: left;">). This means that hopefully students will complete a lab, scan the QR code, and then leave a message explaining what was <b>awful or awesome</b> about the lab they just did. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">With some encouragement, students will start using it. And if we can show that we are acting on what they tell us, I believe they will keep using it too.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />So, we will use this new portal alongside all the existing avenues for gathering feedback. This should give us a more complete picture of student views and experiences.<br /><br /><b>Process it.<br /></b><br />All raw feedback data will be collected into a central hub, anonymised, and stored appropriately. The data will be then classified into some key topics, and qualitatively analysed so that a set of possible actions can be formulated.<br /><br />A feedback coordinator will then communicate with the MEE theme leads, agreeing on courses of action which will then be flowed down to all the staff by the theme leads.<br /><br /><b>Act on it.<br /></b><br />After theme leads have communicated any changes that their team should make, it will be each individual's responsibility to either implement the required actions, or to push-back and challenge it.<br /><br />Since mandating actions to staff without consultation is ‘not-cool’, staff are encouraged to raise concerns or issues about any action, so that it can be discussed in further detail. Most of the time if something is clearly the right thing to do, then implementing change should be friction-free.<br /><br />For larger strategic changes that may come to light, discussions will be held across the themes to agree on actions. Then, with all the labs in all the themes acting concurrently, we can make wide reaching impacts across the department.<br /><br /><b>Close the loop.<br /></b><br />Finally, how can we show the students (and other stakeholders) that we are doing all this work to make their experience better?<br /><br />Well there are many possible ways, but here are few which come to mind (I’m sure there are more):<br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Adding “You said, we did” bulletins to the display screens around MEE's Diamond building</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Adding a new page to the student facing MEE website showing our approach</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Exhibiting case studies in student newsletters</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Presenting what we have done during staff/student committee meetings</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Verbally announcing a change to students, during the lab classes themselves</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;">These will be explored in due course and mentioned in future blogs! <br /><br /><b>Research</b><br /><br />In addition to what was mentioned in “Close the loop”, we also have plans to evaluate the work done and produce research publications on the most interesting topics that arise. These could relate to critiquing the impact of the Feedback Strategy approach in general, or focus on a specific change occurring due to some exciting and unforeseen feedback that is received. Ethical approval will be obtained for this research.<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>What happens next?<br /></b><br />This is only the beginning….<br /><br />In this blog I wanted to explain what the feedback strategy <b>is for</b> and generally what it will look like. So how/when will it be implemented and how will it affect MEE staff?<br /><br />The first stage of rolling out the strategy is to cover just the labs within the ACME theme (Aerospace, Civil & Mechanical Engineering). This means that soon the lab academic-leads will be asked to do 2 things:<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> <span> </span> </span>1) Put the Feedback Letterbox portal (link/QR code) onto every folder of our virtual learning <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span> </span>environment, for their Spring semester labs.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span>2) Engage with feedback actioning when it comes up!</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">....updates will be blogged out soon!</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b>Coming up:</b><br /><br />Blog Episode 2 – Did it work? 1 year of reflections and impact</span><br />Harry Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15862156242443046406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-7360473022841266812021-11-12T16:36:00.004+00:002021-11-12T16:36:26.280+00:00Some thoughts on computational teaching.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/5905713/pexels-photo-5905713.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/5905713/pexels-photo-5905713.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" width="320" /></a></div><br />I am a big fan of digital education. In my previous job as a senior lecturer, after several years of repeatedly teaching the same topics for many years, I had honed a bank of vignettes to explain various concepts to students in a way that I believed captured their essence and helped them to stick in people’s brains. But once perfected, the task of having to repeat the same thing over and over again becomes irksome, especially when you know there are technological tools perfectly suited to the job of digitally capturing your delivery and effortlessly scaling it up to an almost unlimited audience. In the department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education, where teaching at scale is the day job, we routinely rely on an array of digital tools to make our delivery effective and efficient. <p></p><p>The pandemic has thrust digital education squarely into the limelight and The University of Sheffield is more strategically considering their approach to how it is used. My concern with this newly developed excitement about this area is that almost any activity involving a student and a computer, in pretty much any context, now falls under the umbrella term of “digital education”. The problem with conflating many different facets of digital education, which all have their own objectives and constraints, under the same banner is that it creates barriers to finding commonality in approaches to share best practice and eliminate instances of reinventing the wheel. To my mind, there are (at least, I’d be interested to discuss further) three distinct branches of digital education. </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The first is the use of digital tools to serve teaching to students. These are tools that are on the interface between the student and the teachers, such as virtual learning environments.</li><li>The second is the use of tools to administer the teaching process, such as student record systems or attendance monitoring. These tools are on the interface between the students or teachers and the institution. As these tools have a sufficiently different objective in what they are trying to achieve, I feel they deserve to be separated out as a distinct branch of digital education. </li><li>The third is the teaching of digital skills. Unlike the previous two, this isn’t about the use of digital tools to achieve a job, but the teaching of concepts about the operation of hardware/software and creation of digital content.</li></ol><p></p><p>This particular order for the branches of digital education is more or less the order in which I would place my level of excitement that I have for each of them. In the first category there are mature technologies to achieve the bulk of what academics need in order to deliver teaching. There are some incremental gains to be had within this space but it is unlikely there will be a revolutionary change any time soon. Some exciting opportunities exist in the world of remote access to laboratory teaching and MEE is part of the vanguard, but this is a niche subject area. </p><p>There is, for me at least, some excitement about the second branch. From an educators point of view the administration of teaching is not particularly interesting and often something that needs to be done for auditing purposes, but does not directly contribute to the learning experience. That being said, anything that can be done to reduce the time and intellectual effort required to perform administrative duties frees up those resources for the teacher to invest in the more important job of designing and delivering education. So from an efficiency perspective, and as an engineer I am delighted by the elegance of efficient systems that solve problems, I feel there are some ripe opportunities in this second branch of digital education. </p><p>The third branch is about teaching computational concepts and this is the one that excites me the most, for lots of reasons. Pockets of this type of teaching exist in different contexts across our institution providing an opportunity for coalescing delivery with some high quality, centrally supported resources. There is also the delicious circularity of delivering the third branch of digital education using the first and second branch. But it is the universally applicable requirement for all graduates to have a robust foundation in understanding how computers work and a mindset that allows them to be exploited to achieve their creative visions that, for me, makes this the most exciting branch. And the knowledge and experience of computers that students bring with them when they arrive is incredibly varied. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Ibm_px_xt_color.jpg/1197px-Ibm_px_xt_color.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Ibm_px_xt_color.jpg/1197px-Ibm_px_xt_color.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I grew up at a time when computers were just becoming widespread enough for each school to have a few and the curriculum was aware enough of their potential to be important in the future, but most teachers didn’t have, or want to have, any experience of using them. A few people, including myself, had a simple home PC running a command line based DOS or, if you were rich, RISC OS with a fancy graphical interface running on an Acorn. Within a generation the use of computer hardware and digital systems has changed from the preserve of industry experts and knowledge hobbyists to an indispensable part of virtually every aspect of people’s lives. It is now unthinkable that an employee in almost any capacity wouldn’t be able to use the basic functions on a computer or mobile device. </p><p>One detrimental aspect to this rapid advancement in the utilization of digital systems is that they have been optimised to the point that users do not necessarily need to know how they work in order to achieve tasks. For my generation and those before me, the barrier to entry for early adopters was significant, as without at least a modicum of understanding about how computers worked you were unable to achieve even simple tasks. There was a distinction between people who knew how to use computers and those who didn’t, and the former were often called for tech support by the latter. Nowadays, with almost no comprehension of the complexity required to realize such a technically demanding challenge, even tiny children are able to operate an iPad (other tablet computers are available) to navigate to their favourite TV shows on demand. There is still a spectrum of knowledge of the underpinning concepts of how computers operate within the current generation, but now there is also a much more widespread confidence held by people to simply use the computer as a familiar tool. My worry is that this confidence is conflated with expertise, especially amongst an older generation that may not be able to tell the difference.</p><p>I’ve noticed this trend during my time in higher education. Students are increasingly able to use a computer to perform tasks with limited understanding about fundamentally what it is doing to achieve the outcome. Why is that a problem? I’m a terrible cook, but I’m able to feed myself and my family by blindly following a recipe. Likewise, learning to use a piece of software can get you to a predetermined outcome. Given the ubiquity of computers previously discussed and the pivotal role they do and will play in people's careers, my ambition is to raise the expectation for all students to possess a computational mindset. Graduates should be able to go beyond following a recipe or reaching predetermined outcomes, but aspire to create and innovate, identify opportunities and constraints and understand how and why things don’t work so that problems can be solved. When it comes to digital, students should be the master chefs, not the recipe followers. And I don’t think there is any field of study where these ideas and skills would not be relevant. </p>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-6211668696093106342021-10-28T11:21:00.000+01:002021-10-28T11:21:01.409+01:00A journey for teaching excellence: from teamwork to artificial intelligence<p>I was only a few months into my current post when I was asked to support the Global Engineering Challenge (GEC) and Engineering You're Hired (EYH) weeks. I was mesmerized. What struck me was how engineering background diversities were removed by having students from different departments working together to emphasize the learning of another fundamental skill: teamwork.</p><p>However, I felt that those two events were too isolated in the students’ undergraduate programme, and I thought that my teaching settings (i.e., laboratory activity in small groups throughout the academic year) would be ideal to have an ongoing and explicit engagement with teamwork. After attending a Belbin Team Role theory workshop [1] and gaining further knowledge during my PGCert, I developed some content about teamwork theory to integrate into my teaching. In particular, I embedded Tuckman’s Team Development Model [2] into my introductory speech before a laboratory for first-year students. Based on my interpretation of the students’ body language (e.g., no eye contact, looking unengaged), my attempt was a failure. Acknowledging my inexperience, I cherished the feedback from some colleagues. A senior colleague pragmatically spotted the issue, describing it as a demand-offer problem: first-year students enrolled to learn engineering and not pedagogical theory. Another colleague, based on his successful experience, suggested a gaming component to introduce this topic to students. Therefore, I considered removing the teamwork element from my introductory speech and adding it to the practical part of the session. However, this would have required a coordinated effort of the whole teaching team including the GTAs. Unfortunately, at that time, GTA performance in MEE was referred to as inconsistent and often poor in the yearly students' survey.</p><p>This became a pressing matter to address both for MEE, striving to meet the highest standards of TEF [3], and for myself. I realized that engaging students in non-engineering topics required a more professionalised teaching team. Thus, given the wide use I make of GTAs, the success of the teaching in the Structures Lab hinged not only on my ongoing training but also on the one of the GTAs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijck0IEwlEr9njMqqH2hJ8Zq5EHYkj8RgbdV4jViNw4WomgiZIXRGoJjlzjWM80YIVuweQOzLHQjjeO9abQ57v7yfYa9YqlAgkROGZfEVk61hSoLrqfuWrQZ6rj0LRfss3SmylUh3dDuUJ7C579bNDxdXJpBZ1cBoqXocRE26aEA_i992jJtnsWdOt=s999" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="999" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijck0IEwlEr9njMqqH2hJ8Zq5EHYkj8RgbdV4jViNw4WomgiZIXRGoJjlzjWM80YIVuweQOzLHQjjeO9abQ57v7yfYa9YqlAgkROGZfEVk61hSoLrqfuWrQZ6rj0LRfss3SmylUh3dDuUJ7C579bNDxdXJpBZ1cBoqXocRE26aEA_i992jJtnsWdOt=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>After critically reviewing the literature about GTA training and contextualising the findings with the reality at the University, Faculty and Departmental levels, I decided to introduce a GTA training that is continuous and subject-specific and that supports the development of their teaching profile. My aim with this training was not only to support the institutional commitment to staff development [4] but also to allow GTAs to gain pedagogical skills essential for their future careers.</p><p>The new methodology consisted of an ongoing cycle of training-teaching-feedback. The training, based on microteaching [5], was run in two stages. The first one, individual, where, in turn, each GTA familiarised with pedagogical concepts contextualised to engineering practical teaching; and the second one, designed to create a “safe” environment for rehearsing among peers, where the trained GTA would lead the group session. The feedback, gathered as an online form, represented a critical element of the aforementioned cycle, as it provided GTAs with an opportunity for self-reflection but also allowed me to assess the training based on GTA self-efficacy [6].</p><p>The analysis of the feedback confirmed the effectiveness of the training method and was also instrumental to identify some hidden problems that I will need to address moving forward. For example, some GTAs underwent a “shock phase” in their second semester, from which the literature suggests they can exit only through continuous training [6]. Also, only a few GTAs seemed eager to develop their teaching profile. Making GTAs value their role as teachers may require a broader strategy possibly involving their supervisors to find the right balance between their teaching profile and the contrasting but primary research one. I believe that both issues stemmed from neither the cognitive nor the psychomotor domains of GTAs, but, conversely, from a not sufficiently high level in the affective one. They seek knowledge (as inferred from the feedback analysis), but what they probably need is a purpose.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1Y-OisoiH4cADCMmuAn8qziiVnayIOtL4YTScsraEkS1Ow-D84adrkPhxQ4_Uu3htt76hPTAnuAcUguxWUBM8Z7q1Tb52F6fsud6AWL-GsGHm76QJHfiPxWSQazB_zRK5VwMuZSMPokaYDUrkD0pSOkuNDYI7QUR5AmmC1PO6ZOUErOhkJ9kYaL1b=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="2048" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1Y-OisoiH4cADCMmuAn8qziiVnayIOtL4YTScsraEkS1Ow-D84adrkPhxQ4_Uu3htt76hPTAnuAcUguxWUBM8Z7q1Tb52F6fsud6AWL-GsGHm76QJHfiPxWSQazB_zRK5VwMuZSMPokaYDUrkD0pSOkuNDYI7QUR5AmmC1PO6ZOUErOhkJ9kYaL1b=w400-h294" width="400" /></a></div><p>Nonetheless, what alarmed me the most, was the poor engagement that GTAs had with feedback. While for the proposed training this was probably due to the unsuitable format, I also believe that this represents a symptom of a deeper and wider issue: some GTAs did not know how to provide feedback. As I was thinking about the root of the issue, a chat with a PGCert fellow, made me realized that there is a general expectation that everyone knows how to provide/receive feedback. Alas, this is far from the status quo. For example, I was indoctrinated to provide/receive feedback but I was never trained. I suspect neither are the GTAs or our students.</p><p>I have come full circle and I now understand that to teach teamwork to students I will need to focus not only inside my classroom but also tackle wider issues. On one hand, I will need a team of professional GTAs “practically” supported with ongoing training and “emotionally” empowered to recognise their value. On the other hand, more broadly, I will need to work towards a more effective strategy for teaching and deploying feedback that takes into account both the students need of almost real-time feedback and the current limited time that staff can dedicate to provide it. I believe that only technology can overcome this deadlock and specifically I look with interest at artificial intelligence (AI). The use of AI in education has grown over the past two decades [7], and, while challenges still exist, AI also offers a wealth of opportunities like the potential for providing verbal and oral feedback to students that is both personalised and just-in-time. While this will help students to customize their engagement with feedback, I also plan to explore peer feedback as a strategy to teach students (as well as GTAs) to provide feedback and act on it.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">REFERENCES</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Belbin, R.M., (2011). Management teams: Why they succeed or fail. Human Resource Management International Digest.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nestor, R., (2013). Bruce Tuckman’s Team Development Model. [online]. [Viewed 15 June 2020]. Available at: <a href="https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/download.cfm/docid/3C6230CF-61E8-4C5E-9A0C1C81DCDEDCA2">https://www.lfhe.ac.uk/download.cfm/docid/3C6230CF-61E8-4C5E-9A0C1C81DCDEDCA2</a>.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">The University of Sheffield, (2016). Learning and Teaching at the University of Sheffield 2016- 2021 [online]. [Viewed 27 01 2020]. Available at: <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.661828!/file/FinalStrategy.pdf">https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.661828!/file/FinalStrategy.pdf</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bagshaw, A. (2017). A Beginner’s Guide to the Teaching Excellence Framework [online]. [Viewed 27 01 2020]. Available at: <a href="https://wonkhe.com/blogs/a-beginners-guide-to-the-teaching-excellence-framework/">https://wonkhe.com/blogs/a-beginners-guide-to-the-teaching-excellence-framework/</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Calonge, D. S., Mark, K. P., Chiu, P. P., Thadani, D. R., & Pun, C. F. (2013). Extreme-Teaching-2 (XT²): Evaluation of an innovative semester-long intensive GTA training program based on microteaching. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 25(1), pp. 129-143.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chiu, P. H. P., & Corrigan, P. (2019). A study of graduate teaching assistants’ self-efficacy in teaching: Fits and starts in the first triennium of teaching. Cogent Education, 6(1), p. 1579964.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Roll, I., & Wylie, R. (2016). Evolution and revolution in artificial intelligence in education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 26(2), pp. 582-599.</span></li></ol>Matteo Di Benedettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09531004049291015478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-7268576468055473302021-09-09T15:51:00.004+01:002021-09-09T15:51:46.361+01:00Reusable Teaching Blocks<p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-e0691046-7fff-6b29-b902-6378bb234d6a"> </span><img height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/88DwoyBDlShyn7T6USyQGOOX4hkIUjhZJ6oEQDoLyntdjiyUOXswPHjlB7PLJajPWvp28HF8V6z3e3DaZAlAeHwR8bo--jchJveTKppF3hTxw8EsTHKX5pA8AYO2xq5qaEjFu_2fd1w=w320-h180" width="320" /></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This blog post is, in equal parts, personal musings, an idea and a call to arms. Reusable teaching blocks are an idea that could be very powerful?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education is charged with a singular mission: to make the delivery of practical teaching efficient through scale. We identify the content and resources that can be shared by more than one engineering discipline and, when there is broad appeal, it justifies investing a significant amount of effort in developing a high quality, reusable resource. Chemical, Aerospace and Civil engineers may apply their knowledge to different contexts, but they all require a fundamental understanding of, for example, fluid mechanics. Once we have developed a scalable fluid mechanics lab activity for one degree programme, it is really easy to offer it another with a few tweaks to account for a particular context. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because our activities are designed to be implemented using equipment in our laboratories, the extent to which they can be shared is limited by the geographical proximity of our students. Additionally, the equipment requires maintenance, space and physical infrastructure, all of which makes it difficult to replicate the teaching we deliver outside the University of Sheffield. But what if we could replicate the model of sharing teaching resources with the didactic teaching of theoretical engineering concepts rather than practical ones?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We propose the idea of discrete, reusable teaching blocks, which are stand alone (or with a small amount of defined pre-requisite knowledge) digital, scalable objects that are used to deliver compartmentalised theoretical content. We feel that the time for this idea is now. After the covid-19 pandemic engineering educators have been kickstarted into developing lots of online resources, and gained experience, confidence and competence in doing so they may not have had before. The sector has had an opportunity to test en-masse what works well and what doesn't. And students have been forced to embrace new ways of being served content and have identified what aspects they find valuable and appropriate to be delivered in this way. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The zeitgeist in engineering education is for learning through authentic or problem based approach. This is an excellent approach to engage students with real world applications and demonstrate the value of their knowledge, understanding and skills. But it is important that we find mechanisms to actually teach the large amount of knowledge, understanding and skills that are required to engineer solutions to problems. Any tools used to make the teaching of engineering concepts more efficient, for both staff and students, allows more effort that can be expended on staff facilitating and students engaging with more open ended project type learning. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should all the teaching of didactic content be delivered online and with homogenous blocks of content? Of course not. Individual building blocks used in construction have no form in their own right. It takes the application of creativity and vision to assemble a collection of building blocks into a recognizable and coherent structure. And the same can be true for reusable teaching blocks. We can separate the functions of producing teaching material blocks and the function of selecting, arranging and contextualising them If the job of producing the contents is done once, done well and used by many different courses, the intellectual effort of the educator, previously used to build the content, can be focused on the curation placed in the context of the disciple. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The idea of reusable teaching blocks aligns perfectly with the method of flipped classrooms. When learning is flipped, didactic learning is delivered while staff are away from the students,allowing activities that are more valuable to be conducted during the face to face teaching. Reusable teaching blocks could be used while the students are self-studying and the contact time is used to inspire and enrich the curriculum by articulating how the blocks relate to one another and using the content in the context of the specific disciple.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">CDIO is ostensibly a framework to codify teaching through problem based, design/build/test learning to allow quick deployment without the need to reinvent the wheel. Educators can dip into the framework and pull out the resources and teaching methodology to directly embed into their curricula. While problem based learning and design/build/test are engaging ways of demonstrating the application of engineering theory to real world problems, it can’t be used without students having basic engineering knowledge and understanding. I mean, it’s right there at the bottom of Bloom, indicating that you can’t do the application and analysis without the lower levels of the pyramid being first being there to rest on: </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c12eb2c7-7fff-f5a6-3290-80db0bbfa558"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 285px; overflow: hidden; width: 330px;"><img height="285" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/sKk3zjAHvgqd7RVZ4mWv_46unNgkheJq0jbjqO9EoZGyewIIX6_9d0V2Nn7ROOe_URYoPNpEY_LE-b3ZKMvuzx05uNs_EPlK812wOKkBRvcXlKcP8oKIMzNUMvVhpglK9zzaZZgE=s0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="330" /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if a collaboration of like minded educators could get together to set up a framework with similar reach and value as CDIO, but for the reusable teaching blocks of didactic engineering concepts? Wouldn’t that be valuable for all engineering educators? We would be very interested in joining forces with anyone that could help make this idea come to life. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The first step would be to define a framework. Here is my starter for ten: </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the metaphor, the type of blocks we are imagining about are more like wooden building blocks than lego (other variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks are available). Lego blocks have a pre-defined orientation and limited ways in which they can interconnect. Reusable teaching blocks should be more like wood teaching blocks that can be oriented and arranged to build any conceivable structure. The concepts are the blocks, the educator is the architect designing the structure and the disciple context is the glue that holds the blocks together in the chosen form. To allow facilitate this, reusable blocks should ensure:</span></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are stand alone or with as little prerequisite knowledge as possible. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where prerequisite knowledge is unavoidable, blocks should be clearly signposted (preferably to other reusable teaching blocks). However complex learning environments can be created by stacking a number of blocks into ‘Elements’. These can be reused in part or whole as needed.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are atomistics: blocks should aim to introduce as few concepts as possible </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Specific applications or examples of concepts should be separated from the description of the concept. Context and examples can be created as additional blocks to form part of the menu.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terminology or nomenclature should be fully explained to ensure it is stand alone.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are free of decorative clutter, subject or context information or corporate branding.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They may have associated micro assessments to ensure engagement.</span></span></li></ul><p></p><div><br /></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-5718780095335070022021-07-13T11:32:00.002+01:002021-07-13T11:32:48.217+01:00Herding Engineers<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A question I get asked a lot by my friends is </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“what is it like to work with engineers in </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> building?”</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. That building is, of course, The Diamond. The beating heart for engineering practical education at The University of Sheffield. For the first part of the question I can offer up some insight here. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie04XF10wvpFDODDXPuo1X0aDjtuY0r84eUz3X63E9gXYCAEWvzPE4U81xhRJWVxTbYOOpbdb88a8kHfOZlRfhKsegMJJ-7UNLrgf1JnpvzvEud9Y-Cody_NpcS0RjIUQGx7U5ySUh8fE/s2048/32460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie04XF10wvpFDODDXPuo1X0aDjtuY0r84eUz3X63E9gXYCAEWvzPE4U81xhRJWVxTbYOOpbdb88a8kHfOZlRfhKsegMJJ-7UNLrgf1JnpvzvEud9Y-Cody_NpcS0RjIUQGx7U5ySUh8fE/s320/32460.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">February 2017 was my first month in post as Departmental Manager in Multidisciplinary Engineering Education (MEE). A department I knew almost nothing about due to its infancy within the Faculty of Engineering as well as, at that time, a limited online presence. My entire work history has been within either the third sector or in voluntary organisations along with time served in a local FE establishment, which anyone who has made the same transition will tell you, is vastly different to HE. </span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-10f9fb9c-7fff-8c08-0cbd-6a46ef3dcf1d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am 4 and a half years into my professional journey here in MEE working alongside 45 staff all of whom are engineers. I work with mechanical engineers, bio engineers, aerospace engineers, electrical engineers….the list goes on. I am surrounded by capable and fiercely intelligent team members who occupy technical and academic roles. What is day to day life like in this job? In short: it's very process oriented. </span></p><div><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>Each day I have been here I have learnt something new. I confess that what I’ve learnt is not in the field of thermodynamics but more what I have learned about myself and how I’ve learnt to adapt to deal with others. In my experience engineers love efficiency. They want things to happen quickly, smoothly, with as little waste as possible. They find solutions quicker than you can imagine and can find a counter argument to almost anything you suggest. For an emotionally driven, affiliative, non-confrontational person such as myself I’ve had to quickly master the art of putting my views across in a way that they will be heard and understood. I’m still learning in that respect. I find raising my voice in meetings often helps. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBI_JPLnluFohxU7jqeVnv4gwILsxkpykRtBwUYENcmwVuf7XguCnPvTVsLpi44yx7kqxwhxs_wlt9f5bgNPxl7u0SUnuB1STdb0zXfFOfXk-HQ3qDBwFg-H2YC3xXYQ2m33XNajwil0/s2048/26465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBI_JPLnluFohxU7jqeVnv4gwILsxkpykRtBwUYENcmwVuf7XguCnPvTVsLpi44yx7kqxwhxs_wlt9f5bgNPxl7u0SUnuB1STdb0zXfFOfXk-HQ3qDBwFg-H2YC3xXYQ2m33XNajwil0/s320/26465.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>I hope that amongst my closest colleagues I’ve been able to influence some of the most steadfast engineers. I hope we’ve found new ways to to discuss things in a consultative fashion, and been open to finding new angles to see things from and dare I say it… with feeling. I often feel like the fun police in meetings, slowing down the thought train as it leaves with several members on board excited about the next stop, the next idea (one that will change the world!) whilst I stand in the corner waving the </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“but what about this policy we need to abide by</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” flag. Although in this metaphor perhaps I should have chosen a more engineering based example rather than a train, I should be more specific with which engine parts I meant and how they interact with one another. </span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, I have laughed more in this job than any other I have ever had. Sometimes through exasperation, most often with others. I have learnt that having a good process can provide stability and structure sorely needed for teams and that routine and order can also allow for freedom and creativity to blossom. I have found engineers to be surprising in the way they approach challenges, most often it's with a willingness to get stuck in. They shy away from literally nothing, they do not fear failure. I believe this has rubbed off a little on me and taken the edge off my once slight tendency to catastrophize when a problem arose. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ42otQaxqB_sb2olB_QsfwPYjruxp2yhM71u2tqYdeT1NWPQhstGGdCg29RQmNKEoZ58jjCW4o0rvX7Xr8zVlwZJSn1MgAPybwgi8PyOji5Ir_e7RJSMPRNuuqLlczr3pK-A5nWmu8Ss/s2048/31325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ42otQaxqB_sb2olB_QsfwPYjruxp2yhM71u2tqYdeT1NWPQhstGGdCg29RQmNKEoZ58jjCW4o0rvX7Xr8zVlwZJSn1MgAPybwgi8PyOji5Ir_e7RJSMPRNuuqLlczr3pK-A5nWmu8Ss/s320/31325.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">I find myself caring about elements of practical experiments that, in the early days in the job, I couldn’t get excited about. I’m invested in each lab area and genuinely pay attention to the growth and development of teaching in the department. I even found myself referencing Occam's razor in a recent conversation with my husband. I don't think either of us recognised who I have become. </span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To those of you in MEE, thank you. I have learnt more than I ever expected and I’m grateful that on that day back in 2017 I was offered the chance to come and be one of you here in engineering. Also, I promise I’ll contribute more at the next staff quiz as long as the questions aren’t about molecules or galvanized steel. </span></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Laura Neasmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03805539285215082789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-40035623610947449902021-06-17T21:31:00.025+01:002021-06-22T09:38:59.083+01:00Practical Engineering Education Conference Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARhtD0Okeku8zYM-fBMSpca2ntUiVonMtbwd9iFgXPosMlJ1VVrzzj6KW82vVDFJ4WKx2u-8WO_m4piKpk0OPstv2b1e8T2tSlSD0bo_NzM-4yyto5g1ZyZ7GNF9yuR31z3Jt5OOPisr2/s1280/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARhtD0Okeku8zYM-fBMSpca2ntUiVonMtbwd9iFgXPosMlJ1VVrzzj6KW82vVDFJ4WKx2u-8WO_m4piKpk0OPstv2b1e8T2tSlSD0bo_NzM-4yyto5g1ZyZ7GNF9yuR31z3Jt5OOPisr2/s320/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Way back in December 2020, we <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-practical-engineering-education.html">posted</a> the idea of hosting the first ever conference dedicated to Practical Engineering Education. Since then, the idea has been gaining interest and we have been working away to try and organise the event. Covid restrictions allowing, we are really looking forward to welcoming academics and thinkers who are passionate about laboratory based teaching to Sheffield to share their thoughts with the community. </p><p><a href="www.tecquipment.com ">TecQuipment</a>, the leading provider of high quality educational equipment for engineering disciplines, is an official conference sponsor. The company’s laboratory products are used by students and educators across the world, in over 1500 establishments in more than 100 countries. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZKrfmT0AeBk1kct8daS05IRcoQYYC0ccZNOHYS0MeCZnkYHHa8Q9qIzNLap1XyMGiZituz2RwHWYBf0BBFczoTN3XKH5Ew4uU2b62Y0c41S87ZJodGs-CCJwPq_VPGZUZRiptwrowGuo/s519/Logo-Linear.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZKrfmT0AeBk1kct8daS05IRcoQYYC0ccZNOHYS0MeCZnkYHHa8Q9qIzNLap1XyMGiZituz2RwHWYBf0BBFczoTN3XKH5Ew4uU2b62Y0c41S87ZJodGs-CCJwPq_VPGZUZRiptwrowGuo/s320/Logo-Linear.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The products allow students and educators to perform practical experiments to illustrate engineering principles relating to aerodynamics, control engineering, process control, hydraulics and fluid mechanics, material testing and properties, structures, renewable energies, mechanics and dynamics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, along with electrical power systems.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx7kGotc1cgeebP6Ug7nrPWvvPC0pYWSympui_JkeC_Qtuz4zxEEHnc9QqBQewtVmRzFmAnHeG867iRKHy3-3LxNhh0EG0v1v7Q7xZS5T8ZrLEcZ5pRk7tDfuOqCRjQ8T6thiL2smVx3O/s820/Flexible+teaching+-+Facebook+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="820" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx7kGotc1cgeebP6Ug7nrPWvvPC0pYWSympui_JkeC_Qtuz4zxEEHnc9QqBQewtVmRzFmAnHeG867iRKHy3-3LxNhh0EG0v1v7Q7xZS5T8ZrLEcZ5pRk7tDfuOqCRjQ8T6thiL2smVx3O/s320/Flexible+teaching+-+Facebook+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><p>We thank them for supporting our efforts.</p><p>We have received an overwhelming number of abstract submissions from a host of different institutions. While the titles are still TBC, the presenters and their affiliations can be seen in our <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee/programme">programme</a>. We have received significant interest in the theme of delivering labs remotely, so we have dedicated the first day, 16th September, to this topic. The second day, 17 September, will focus on the broader learning and teaching that happens in the lab.</p><p>We are also delighted to announce that we have 4 keynote speakers. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNkulxC_npiXNkmutuguMfpzL2wNh663WgKleN5PoEIa3gLhiKsXhkRuTtI06n7UXWxjm6j_jAljVVDLs7W_y3I0UJEuEdDAkFTCFayXVfn6gONLAN1O8wDkN9cbRXcqEmBsThsyhnvf4/s1280/Jonathan_Seville_Oct2015-3518+%2528002%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1280" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNkulxC_npiXNkmutuguMfpzL2wNh663WgKleN5PoEIa3gLhiKsXhkRuTtI06n7UXWxjm6j_jAljVVDLs7W_y3I0UJEuEdDAkFTCFayXVfn6gONLAN1O8wDkN9cbRXcqEmBsThsyhnvf4/w131-h126/Jonathan_Seville_Oct2015-3518+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjd2dnrMhGFF2m-cqZ2wpG_r5MGrM5A03w1wgFA3t2LWgsUGFmUrHAYPtZCnZ9bmWzRJFZ4U5nRTYSsYILu7Q4ym7HlCfbYtenUnj8Hg59ZPzdOGa56nmHMHGZuPeHYSlbhX1edNRkT2R/s296/image+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="296" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjd2dnrMhGFF2m-cqZ2wpG_r5MGrM5A03w1wgFA3t2LWgsUGFmUrHAYPtZCnZ9bmWzRJFZ4U5nRTYSsYILu7Q4ym7HlCfbYtenUnj8Hg59ZPzdOGa56nmHMHGZuPeHYSlbhX1edNRkT2R/w132-h126/image+%25281%2529.png" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnttWb4Ax04eCQSNSODnMDewAzkZpw2ssuvHR6cp0M-_ejJQWuRSzN2gsRViuDQVXTMjLG87SkQE5l_-55x49WL9B2FYLMqfY0wT3d7rHIn3IWOCgfkqt_TMmqRXurvEJR39eIPwLSB5cd/s514/smith+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="514" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnttWb4Ax04eCQSNSODnMDewAzkZpw2ssuvHR6cp0M-_ejJQWuRSzN2gsRViuDQVXTMjLG87SkQE5l_-55x49WL9B2FYLMqfY0wT3d7rHIn3IWOCgfkqt_TMmqRXurvEJR39eIPwLSB5cd/w133-h128/smith+%25281%2529.png" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkP__IwKdUfbYri-63j7wE2S5iTRC-oawPm-NT3aX2Bkur30HbfWtR60nGGeRX3cEpaa8BUoGPJkkiOrNd4UY2HWS-5sumoV14DRcONBG_HD9BlbgfGYYol6k_8kitSTIVTlAVAArxDbKK/s663/VTjGP8UQcWuhBnqLZkdwRv5BjKaFNnLvwO442nqRxocUAfihGv7conEzb3Z4YI22wjTz41posfxhWb0pJ9nl_v2PvgfFiCQZyvzUDHpIMPE2cG0-jb4mXtgv%253Ds2048+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="663" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkP__IwKdUfbYri-63j7wE2S5iTRC-oawPm-NT3aX2Bkur30HbfWtR60nGGeRX3cEpaa8BUoGPJkkiOrNd4UY2HWS-5sumoV14DRcONBG_HD9BlbgfGYYol6k_8kitSTIVTlAVAArxDbKK/w132-h128/VTjGP8UQcWuhBnqLZkdwRv5BjKaFNnLvwO442nqRxocUAfihGv7conEzb3Z4YI22wjTz41posfxhWb0pJ9nl_v2PvgfFiCQZyvzUDHpIMPE2cG0-jb4mXtgv%253Ds2048+%25281%2529.png" width="132" /></a></p>Jonathan Seville is the Academic Director of the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory at the University of Birmingham, where he was formerly head of Chemical Engineering (1998-2008). <b>In his keynote address, Johnathan will be discussing a collaborative approach to practical engineering education delivered by a single team of technical staff. <br /></b><br />Stephen Beck is the head of department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education at the University of Sheffield. This department delivers the practical engineering teaching for the Faculty of Engineering in The Diamond building. <b>In his keynote address, Stephen will describe the process of instigating a new paradigm for educating engineers that has transformed student experiences. Having led the only department in the country dedicated to the practical elements of the education of engineers, he will discuss the obvious and more esoteric advantages and problems of taking a systems approach to this vital element in the creation of engineering graduates. <br /></b><br />Nigel Francis is a senior lecturer at Cardiff University and David Smith is a National Teaching Fellow, teaching Molecular Bioscience and Biochemistry. They are the founders of #DryLabsRealScience, a collaborative network for educators to share innovative practice to supplement and enhance lab-based teaching. <b>In their keynote address, Nigel and David will talk about enhancing the student learning experience in remote lab teaching and the rationale underpinning different approaches.</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee/about-the-conference/tickets-and-pricing">Tickets</a> are now available from our website, where <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee">further details</a> of the event can be found.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></div></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-35372581459920158192021-06-16T10:35:00.001+01:002021-06-16T10:35:43.503+01:00Unexpected Advantages of the Multidisciplinary Model <p>Over the past six year, the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education has been telling anyone that wants to listen, and a few people that don’t, about the advantages of our collaborative approach to delivering lab based teaching. </p><p>One of the logistical benefits comes from a chain of effects: If you pool resources you can buy (or make) multiple copies of equipment -> this allows large cohorts to complete activists in a shorter window of time -> so all students do labs in the same order -> and you can generate a more deliberately progressive curriculum. There are lots of others and these are now <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Interdisciplinary-Future-of-Engineering-Education-Breaking-Through/Kapranos/p/book/9780367582517">well published</a>. </p><p>These advantages were always part of the plan and the justification for opening and resourcing the department. But I find it joyful when, six years on, I’m still finding unexpected advantages in our model of operation that I’d not considered before. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfrQYM_WE2Co_bpqoXoa0HPVGdGGS2t7dl8ebfDYz1iyCuGz0ZIwBhvKGY43VmAAZCmRp2sn5bAMPHCMss9EhyphenhyphenNnwpuMdym9IeaWHgBWOM17eyqyQ__LdkPxzgXDiDmZvyo01CPgWxZA9/s2048/2015-11-10+15.24.09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfrQYM_WE2Co_bpqoXoa0HPVGdGGS2t7dl8ebfDYz1iyCuGz0ZIwBhvKGY43VmAAZCmRp2sn5bAMPHCMss9EhyphenhyphenNnwpuMdym9IeaWHgBWOM17eyqyQ__LdkPxzgXDiDmZvyo01CPgWxZA9/s320/2015-11-10+15.24.09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>In the fluids Engineering lab, we have 10 copies of a “network of pipes” apparatus. Typically we have 20 copies of each experiment. We have 20 hydraulic benches, which are like splashy workstations onto which we can place fluids experiments like this, but these rigs are absolute monsters. They take up a disproportionate amount of our storage space compared to our other apparatus and it is a two person job to lift and manoeuvre them into place for students to work on. So we only have 10. Because we like <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2020/06/experimental-design-for-practical.html">building stuff</a>, we have the benches and we like teaching lots of students simultaneously, we are considering how we could manufacture more copies of the apparatus, but without the faff. </p><p>One of the reasons the equipment is so cumbersome is because it is highly configurable. There are several chunky 3-way valves that allow the students to set up different branching paths for the fluid to flow down and heavy duty connectors that allow pipes of different diameters to be swapped in and out easily but without leaking. The manufacturers almost certainly envisaged that a University would buy one or two copies of this equipment and students would stand in front of it and run a range of scenarios so that the activity was suitably rich and investigative. We were considering how to replicate this experiment, when we had our epiphany. </p><p>Because we are planning on building 20 rigs, we can create 20 different fixed configurations, and allow students to circulate between them. This will provide the options of experimenting with a variety of scenarios without the overhead of figuring out how to make each rig configurable. </p><p>This may not be an innovation that changes the world, but it is another benefit to add to the lists that demonstrate the model we adopt is valuable.</p>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-37925412245706541942021-05-24T12:12:00.002+01:002021-06-22T09:16:21.215+01:00What was students' experience of learning practical skills during the COVID-19 pandemic like?<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educators around the world to move to distance learning and adapt their face-to-face teaching styles to accommodate social distancing. While such activities as lectures are easier to deliver at a distance, teaching practical engineering skills in this way is an enormous challenge.</span></p><div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At MEE we are committed to delivering top-quality practical engineering teaching, and so we invested a lot of time and effort into designing and developing new methods of delivering interactive activities at a distance. In the 2020/2021 academic year, which may well become to be known as the year of the pandemic, we have used 5 distinct teaching methods:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">in-lab, which was face-to-face with the support of teachers, technicians and graduate teaching assistants, but with strict social distancing restrictions mandating greatly reduced capacity, with students working individually, and staff only providing support from a 2m distance</span></span></p></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">take-home kits, which were collated by staff and either picked up by students or sent to them (sometimes halfway round the world), which allowed students to complete activities such as building and controlling a robot arm using an Arduino at home</span></span></p></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">remote access to real in-lab equipment (such as oscilloscopes, waveform generators, servo motors and HVAC systems) with web interfaces and/or cameras so that students could see the real-time operation of the systems they controlled from home</span></span></p></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">simulations of physical systems performed by the students at home (using, for example, LTSpice, TinkerCAD, MATLAB, LabVIEW) - these were either individual or in a group, which made a large difference to student experience </span></span></p></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">recorded/live video demonstrations of experiments, which students could watch at home - these were usually followed by analysis of provided data and a quiz to check students’ understanding of the material</span></span></p></li></ol><br /><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: medium none; table-layout: fixed; width: 451.276pt;"><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxw_e7RMJalKagUBD2RLGAAbm9nqyjRL4fF6dVw332WJb-S6LHI8aTQxvs07nTq9LN_7Ax4wtP888kZqUJ_FMaHpq8T2_iVJ9e8kgwWi2lS3gb4kvJas1VNXDROkJ4JopNEiJrgh3O_U/s5152/PLC1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxw_e7RMJalKagUBD2RLGAAbm9nqyjRL4fF6dVw332WJb-S6LHI8aTQxvs07nTq9LN_7Ax4wtP888kZqUJ_FMaHpq8T2_iVJ9e8kgwWi2lS3gb4kvJas1VNXDROkJ4JopNEiJrgh3O_U/w184-h138/PLC1.JPG" width="184" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kc1v_SsF2Wzxp26mRybjDJK65hO3GYg-okK-grdan7HgweRhnueji1RhqEF4-IcMCOQRQF6EU0cgW3f6uX6-Dxw-S16RSKhJbw_QaTYZxUspblJCngDx5n4JeZ5N0iOBvek8bEfh7TY/s2048/Robot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kc1v_SsF2Wzxp26mRybjDJK65hO3GYg-okK-grdan7HgweRhnueji1RhqEF4-IcMCOQRQF6EU0cgW3f6uX6-Dxw-S16RSKhJbw_QaTYZxUspblJCngDx5n4JeZ5N0iOBvek8bEfh7TY/w185-h139/Robot.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNuP5Q7B2gC2Ki7a_s_9vvXz_0y-xoQGIlVWCMZ_lDACP2gzn_EDCpKIDzTaXC80fslH-2nq7udWTA-UR6qqnqONq7cFHKgSWPqDwOzMfBJ2-ra59g_66o5D_wrBR-u_67VjYpIlD8A0/s1680/ServoLab.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="1680" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNuP5Q7B2gC2Ki7a_s_9vvXz_0y-xoQGIlVWCMZ_lDACP2gzn_EDCpKIDzTaXC80fslH-2nq7udWTA-UR6qqnqONq7cFHKgSWPqDwOzMfBJ2-ra59g_66o5D_wrBR-u_67VjYpIlD8A0/w185-h108/ServoLab.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 1. Socially distanced in-lab</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2. Take-home kits</span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3. Remote access to
in-lab equipment</span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCUFfjvSvYWya7QhyphenhyphenZjReN9ikpPNoIpBp4HCp_uEm0XpwpSmgVB_SPFl2aGCCe0QLSC-ukA2GeG4pJZT8kI6pJjFly3WEH84yV52jMJ_XGNuuyOGvWGXm7d1ryjG41viCPyUkWeXOj28/s1701/TinkerCAD.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1701" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCUFfjvSvYWya7QhyphenhyphenZjReN9ikpPNoIpBp4HCp_uEm0XpwpSmgVB_SPFl2aGCCe0QLSC-ukA2GeG4pJZT8kI6pJjFly3WEH84yV52jMJ_XGNuuyOGvWGXm7d1ryjG41viCPyUkWeXOj28/w186-h89/TinkerCAD.png" width="186" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQ5tzcA6jDpGOIssGaF_L8LCLMcu44iHgUatK_6aI0sKM4dJT4AmSQriV71c_xqFVJLNeBnUlKv_WrGJF6thmojlDZDPzBQufUwTXSpIX5mblvszo2O0z0owh4oE87v7EZ9J7GBl2i1k/s1280/FYGER.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQ5tzcA6jDpGOIssGaF_L8LCLMcu44iHgUatK_6aI0sKM4dJT4AmSQriV71c_xqFVJLNeBnUlKv_WrGJF6thmojlDZDPzBQufUwTXSpIX5mblvszo2O0z0owh4oE87v7EZ9J7GBl2i1k/w187-h105/FYGER.jpeg" width="187" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauLQTR1AbL6hKdA_IBxFhLrkLnPVJXSbTDVLH4QZgwrQ5bIuYxJj_f8f7g02O1d_kxZh4eviRmWvj8UHhEsnR_J88EPdzy8-WBDXj_guoHTHn80TUtxKhbpCffpYCiGEu1rD67O4qeO4/s1920/Probes.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauLQTR1AbL6hKdA_IBxFhLrkLnPVJXSbTDVLH4QZgwrQ5bIuYxJj_f8f7g02O1d_kxZh4eviRmWvj8UHhEsnR_J88EPdzy8-WBDXj_guoHTHn80TUtxKhbpCffpYCiGEu1rD67O4qeO4/w185-h104/Probes.png" width="185" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.1 Individual simulation</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.2 Group simulation</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-style: solid; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; border-width: 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. Video/quiz</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The decision as to which of the activities would be delivered by which method was based on the original activity learning outcomes, safety considerations, as well as the availability of the required hardware and software. For example, one of the main learning outcomes of the mechatronics course was for the students to be able to build and control systems themselves from scratch. Such an exercise could only be properly carried out in a laboratory or by using a specially prepared take-home kit. Since the equipment required was low-cost and low-voltage, powered by an Arduino, there were no inherent barriers for students to perform these experiments safely at home. This freed up the limited lab time and space for other activities, such as soldering or high voltage transformer experiments, to happen in a safe environment in the presence of experienced staff.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Examples of remote access laboratory sessions are practical activities involving time and frequency domain analysis of servo motor control. These activities utilize in-house LabVIEW programmes connected to a DC motor with position sensors, which were easily adapted to enable remote access to the laboratory equipment.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5d930d16-7fff-8b57-48c7-5501d5c5fbec" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Anonymous Questionnaire</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To gain insight into the student experience of all these teaching methods we created an anonymous online questionnaire using Google forms, which students were encouraged to complete following 20 disparate practical activities in the robotics, electronic, electrical, and control engineering fields. Just during the Autumn semester (which was the first time ever we delivered our teaching using such a variety of methods) we received over 250 responses from first- and second- year undergraduates in programmes such as Mechanical, General, Aerospace, Electrical and Electronic, and Automatic Control and Systems Engineering.</span></span></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-8eda2672-7fff-88bf-7e1d-b7cdc6ec2bf1" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-8eda2672-7fff-88bf-7e1d-b7cdc6ec2bf1" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-98e2c3d3-7fff-cf61-9c75-dcba0714ce6d" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The questionnaire asked a few contextual questions, such as year of study and whether English is their first language, but the majority of the questions were on a Likert scale of:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These questions were designed to assess the students’ experience during the activity, including their enjoyment, whether they felt challenged, and whether they felt their practical skills had been enhanced thanks to the activity. In addition, some questions explored their time management skills, preference for future practical teaching delivery methods, and their ability to experiment further beyond the provided structured activities. There were also several open-ended free-text questions for students to provide detailed comments about anything they particularly liked, or thought could be improved, about the activities.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-630f70fa-7fff-291e-a265-c3a2f7a5aa7b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Outcomes</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After analysing student responses we have managed to formulate a set of recommendations for practical engineering during the pandemic, as well as in the future:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Take-home kits, remote access and individual simulation activities all appeared to be enjoyed by the students, while being challenging and effective in teaching them new practical skills. These three distance delivery methods received a comparable level of appreciation by the students to the in-lab activities and are, therefore, strongly recommended for distance learning of practical engineering skills when circumstances demand it.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Video/quiz activities have not proven satisfactory, and group simulation activities have scored the lowest on all criteria, and hence both of these methods should be avoided if possible, especially for first year teaching.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If difficult choices need to be made with regards to prioritising limited in-lab access, Year 1 students who are less familiar with the equipment, experimentation and time-management skills should be prioritised over Year 2 students who already have some experience of this.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Short video demonstrations could be used to enhance the experience of non-native English speakers during take-home kits activities.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of the take-home kit activities have been a great success, with over 80% of the students preferring to complete these activities at home in the future, rather than attending in-lab sessions. This unexpected outcome, precipitated by the constraints of the pandemic, could lead to enhancing student experience beyond the current circumstances, by incorporating take-home kits activities to the long-term delivery of the curriculum alongside in-person teaching.</span></span></p></li></ol><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-41fd2019-7fff-dde5-ea47-df4b930ea561" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Research Output</span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><div><p id="docs-internal-guid-7bd53726-7fff-ce46-12b8-e6a77190a57a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d6aa1f0d-7fff-198c-3b58-ea73c2013c9f" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This work was presented at the </span><a href="http://www.educon-conference.org/current/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IEEE EDUCON 2021 Global Engineering Education Conference</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and the </span><a href="http://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON46332.2021.9454000" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">full paper can be found here</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-7bd53726-7fff-ce46-12b8-e6a77190a57a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p id="docs-internal-guid-7bd53726-7fff-ce46-12b8-e6a77190a57a" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This 8-minute video summarizes some of our key results:</span></span></p><p></p></div></div></div>
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Zofia Bishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07437835037433418403noreply@blogger.com0Sheffield, UK53.381128999999987 -1.47008525.070895163821142 -36.626335 81.691362836178826 33.686165tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-18607971635321023152021-05-04T11:07:00.001+01:002021-05-04T11:07:45.473+01:00Does an Engineering lab need to be quantitative?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiWqRS-4PE4MWUVMi4_X1vg_4JLYLQ4KR7Co6pDSvBpYu5cio4-XyQ1kkRMHUkpWI4LFbD2al4h6OjxS4gb9WLJ3ZRKPYqSjULgNK6e6FHYm4xVjhBu9i3nEstPNAPzKcN4XHECnCkOcj/s1251/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiWqRS-4PE4MWUVMi4_X1vg_4JLYLQ4KR7Co6pDSvBpYu5cio4-XyQ1kkRMHUkpWI4LFbD2al4h6OjxS4gb9WLJ3ZRKPYqSjULgNK6e6FHYm4xVjhBu9i3nEstPNAPzKcN4XHECnCkOcj/s320/Picture2.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>In the Fluids Engineering lab in the Diamond we have these pressure gauge calibrators. They are essentially water pistons of a known surface area onto which students can place known masses. The idea being that you can experiment with the relationship between pressure, force and area. They are a pain because they constantly leak, resulting in the force not increasing the water pressure to the correct amount, leading to inaccurate results and instead spraying all over the lab, leading to wet trousers. <br /><br />I’m looking to replace these devices with something more robust. The simplest and cheapest solution to demonstrate the relationship between pressure area and force is to connect two differently sized plastic syringes and alternately press each of the plungers. A big syringe is hard to push (big area/high force) and doesn't move very far and a little syringe is easy to push (small area/low force) and moves a long way. <br /><br />The problem with this approach is the amount of force required to overcome the friction from the rubber seals of the syringes. One of the reasons the calibrators leak all the time is the technical difficulty in creating a watertight seal between moving surfaces that is close to frictionless. The friction force does not contribute to the pressure in the fluid and is difficult to determine for a quantified analysis of the force/pressure/area relationship.<br /><br />How critical is it for students to perform a numerical analysis after an experiment? As engineering educators who design experiments for engineering students, our default thought process is to consider the mathematical model that describes a system and figure out how to instrument our set up to demonstrate the physics. Because of this, most engineering students will do numerical post processing of their experiments ad nauseam as they progress through their diet of experimental activities in their particular programme. <br /><br />Data analysis is one skill students should demonstrate they can deploy. However, there are other skills that are equally important for engineers to be able to demonstrate, such as identification of underlying principles and articulating these to others. Maybe I can simply provide the big and small connected syringes and ask student to qualify, rather than quantify the results. <div><br /></div><div>Participation in pushing a syringe may seem a trivial task that requires no specific technical skills. But what if it were coupled with a group task of discussing with their peers what has been observed, conjecturing why the performance of the system manifests in the way it does and the potential industrial engineering applications. This then arguably becomes a higher level of learning than simply plotting points on a pair of axes and drawing a line between them. <span id="docs-internal-guid-5c826bd3-7fff-6792-4f02-732eaf80251b"><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-72165904282560591222021-04-26T07:59:00.001+01:002021-04-26T07:59:55.483+01:00New discoveries with established methods.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5xxGgjyTJrIefPO5dIkVeZZZJcNu7I5K7DbWihSphyphenhyphenFO7bBCDTYh8pSlcamIFcAXo9-scMChTf8nVJwyF2dzE53efcia6Nzw5PTERwSUadl5D9hRaLganjyvYNvtGzp-YFurFNPkBWx5/s2048/pexels-cottonbro-4667190.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5xxGgjyTJrIefPO5dIkVeZZZJcNu7I5K7DbWihSphyphenhyphenFO7bBCDTYh8pSlcamIFcAXo9-scMChTf8nVJwyF2dzE53efcia6Nzw5PTERwSUadl5D9hRaLganjyvYNvtGzp-YFurFNPkBWx5/s320/pexels-cottonbro-4667190.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><br /><br />I think this news story is absolutely great. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/news/cracked-cold-case-why-boiling-water-freezes-faster">https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/news/cracked-cold-case-why-boiling-water-freezes-faster<br /></a><br />I’ve long been fascinated by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect">Mpemba effect</a>, where hot water can freeze faster than cold water. It’s fantastic that there still is (was?) an unknown phenomena in fields as well understood, researched and industrially relevant as heat transfer and phase change. <br /><br />I once wrote an extensive technical engineering report documenting a fictitious experimental investigating the Mpemba effect, to provide an exemplar for students on how to write up. I didn’t want to provide an exemplar of an experiment that students would actually be asked to do, as there is a reasonable chance they would reword what had been supplied rather than translating the general principles of technical report writing into their own work. And it was unlikely we would ask them to do an experiment on the Mpemba effect, as we couldn't explain why it happened. <br /><br />Apart from my attraction to the effect, the reason I think this story is great is the approach <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe/people/academic-staff/will-zimmerman">Professor Zimmerman</a> took that is described at the end of the article.<div> <br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Testing a new theory requires a prediction, and that usually means conducting new experiments. Probably like most University labs, conducting new experiments was banned in the last year, with only high priority exceptions. It dawned on me last December that I should analyse experiments already published on this topic. I did, and a prediction that my theory makes about microbubbles and dissolved gases, correlates beautifully with Mpemba and Osborne's 1969 paper."</i></span></h4><div><br /></div>I’ve a preoccupation with writing technical engineering reports and recording experimental findings. I’ve written<a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/technical-report-writing-for-engineers"> a 6 week MOOC</a> about the subject. Part of my delight with this story is it provides the perfect example of the value in properly recording what you did in an experiment and what results were obtained. Because the results of an experiment were properly documented 50 years ago, they can be used in contemporary research, the likes of which was probably unimaginable at the time.<br /><br />It is sometimes hard to convince students of the value in doing things for reasons beyond their immediate benefit. They may believe they are writing up an experiment because it is required in order to demonstrate to their teacher they have performed a task in a laboratory. The real reason that we ask students to write up experiments is to teach the process for doing so and the standards that should be applied, as the documentation of work is a critical part of the engineering process. We can tell them that they may, in the future, need to refer back to their results and interpret them in new ways to discover hidden meaning, but this is a hard sell for a routine undergraduate lab class. I will now be citing this work as an example of why it is important to document findings well. And possibly to defend my disproportionate fixation with report writing and <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/mee/competencies/experimental-record">keeping an experimental record</a>.</div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-35957041798028610412021-04-15T10:04:00.001+01:002021-04-15T10:04:00.173+01:00How do we use labs to enhance employability skills?<p>This blog post comes from <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chalak-Omar" target="_blank">Dr Chalak Omar</a>, a University Teacher in MEE who leads sessions in the Diamond Pilot Plant, a realistic industrial setting experienced by our chemical engineering and bioengineering students.</p><p>Practical activities at MEE do not only involve providing hands on experience, but also the skills required to make students industry-ready. Some of our activities focus on improving the students’ employability, and help
them develop the skills required in their life after the University. A good example of this are practical
activities which utilise the Diamond Pilot Plant (DiPP). The facilities at
the DiPP include industrial rigs, which are used in pharmaceutical and
bioengineering technologies (Figure 1). These rigs are heavily used in both undergraduate and postgraduate taught curricula to provide group-based open-ended
practical sessions, which deal with up-to-date challenges in industrial settings. The skills addressed in these sessions include planning, team
working, leadership, problem solving, critical analysis, time management and
communication skills.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTXroNlbnJxdEdQrIa8HhSfsP03U1Hzq6WZfsVKoQWm1Ut4H5pWnh0FyfRNkAxeoO815WMiMT6scoo8Ij2xAkj5aODA71oH7JB1qiERinn5Fvrvze1t-HfhSKZkyn4OZOuEONZ81Ei60/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="339" data-original-width="602" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTXroNlbnJxdEdQrIa8HhSfsP03U1Hzq6WZfsVKoQWm1Ut4H5pWnh0FyfRNkAxeoO815WMiMT6scoo8Ij2xAkj5aODA71oH7JB1qiERinn5Fvrvze1t-HfhSKZkyn4OZOuEONZ81Ei60/w400-h225/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Figure <!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>SEQ Figure \* ARABIC <span style='mso-element:
field-separator'></span><![endif]-->1<!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]-->:
ConsiGma25 Continuous Tabletting line (CTL) used during the practical sessions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;">The activities in these sessions are designed in a way to
shift the responsibility from the teacher to the students and allow students to
direct and lead their learning process. It involves providing teams with
scenarios based on realistic challenges in industry. The teams start by pre-planning their sessions, identifying the parameters of interest and then setting the critical process parameters. In this stage, students have to think about
their plan carefully, considering the time and material constraints, which in turn helps them develop some time management skills. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;">Their next step is to attend the lab
to execute the plan and collect the required data. Once in the lab, students might
be required to adjust their plan as a result of the equipment limitations and
their chosen parameter interaction. However, they will only find out these challenges while executing the
plan in the lab. The students can then amend and improve their plan and then implement
the changes during the session.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal">The procedure mentioned above (Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle,
Figure 2) is a four-step model used as a project-planning tool that in many industries as a process for continuous improvement. The PDCA is
usually used when starting a new improvement project, or working towards
continuous improvement in existing projects.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweJIgRzhjdnTgTgaXmE_9LwXKTA_G4m2bSYhQoTFsPYc2S0xwP6V1EbKrlWFlD5SbV5mOjIHvn4L6LnEuwLNJC6uARirez4TvC_lKvLuYif6ReNhlL0Dm1EE7eDvfyZxivnK4AdJGG58/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="351" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweJIgRzhjdnTgTgaXmE_9LwXKTA_G4m2bSYhQoTFsPYc2S0xwP6V1EbKrlWFlD5SbV5mOjIHvn4L6LnEuwLNJC6uARirez4TvC_lKvLuYif6ReNhlL0Dm1EE7eDvfyZxivnK4AdJGG58/" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Figure 2:
The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the project management skills gained during these practical
sessions, students will also gain extensive hands on experience on how to work
with and operate an industrial scale rig. The data collected from these
sessions will be critically analysed by students and will be used to write
technical reports, which help improve their communication skills. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Exposing students to the PDCA process and providing them
with the extensive hands-on experience with the additional skills on how to
plan and conduct experiments, leadership, team working and data management and
analysis will improve their employability skills and make them ready for life after University. <o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Adam Funnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385346536425474998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-13259819910945364182021-04-01T10:06:00.009+01:002021-04-01T17:34:48.220+01:00Smiley Faces - What can Instant Student Satisfaction Ratings Tell Us?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Practical teaching is very different to lectures, seminars and problem classes. Students are expected to work with specialist equipment, sometimes independently and sometimes in groups, and students interact with a range of different staff members including teaching technicians and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet most methods for student evaluations of teaching ask for feedback on whole modules or even programmes, of which lab sessions constitute just one part. By conflating laboratory experiences with lectures and other activities, the feedback received from students may not be directly applicable to our practical teaching. We also employ a wide range of practical activity styles, from introductory equipment tutorials to open-ended design challenges, and we would like to gain insight on each activity individually.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To capture more granular data specifically on practical activities, MEE developed a system for students to press a "smiley face" button as they leave the laboratory. They can rate their experience of the session from extremely happy to extremely unhappy, although this is happiness rating is not in response to any particular question or stimulus. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiJ4qnCV2yAizh1x9EDj01ox1w9bqZ6D6q-2AAiAAfZ1L8rL4nUYj2QFF_VKwzR_S-rFHpHem2gNSKFjP7goOrDqxvKXAAEibUp0IYK7p1tD68s8JNl6ttj8jMT4IJsQsOLbZ3BhJGFY/s542/for_smiley_face_blog_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiJ4qnCV2yAizh1x9EDj01ox1w9bqZ6D6q-2AAiAAfZ1L8rL4nUYj2QFF_VKwzR_S-rFHpHem2gNSKFjP7goOrDqxvKXAAEibUp0IYK7p1tD68s8JNl6ttj8jMT4IJsQsOLbZ3BhJGFY/s320/for_smiley_face_blog_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Every button press is precisely time-stamped and linked to a room and activity, allowing fine-grained data capture of student sentiments for every session that we run.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFZsWjT2TverNdK01by4A0l6-KbD_5wKATWqM8wPiqnkBJJ_Un1uvjsGTE0wImSVFYMZcBWrA2B9hSCK_RCUl8-Ff5dH-tW9iYb5LfLgFL1390Aa4jJp66Vt-F1Bf0QnlQPruKPvoGxs/s1275/for_smiley_face_blog_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="1275" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFZsWjT2TverNdK01by4A0l6-KbD_5wKATWqM8wPiqnkBJJ_Un1uvjsGTE0wImSVFYMZcBWrA2B9hSCK_RCUl8-Ff5dH-tW9iYb5LfLgFL1390Aa4jJp66Vt-F1Bf0QnlQPruKPvoGxs/w400-h146/for_smiley_face_blog_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">The vast amount of data generated by the system stands alone; it is completely anonymous and cannot be linked to any other metrics on the students. This gives us a lot of freedom to analyse it without any ethical concerns. However, this comes at the price of no contextual data, which makes it nearly impossible to ascertain reasons that a particular button press was made. We can tell how happy a student was, but we don't know why!</span></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To try and find some reasons behind the happiness scores, we analysed a large dataset covering 6 weeks of lab sessions to try and correlate other anonymous environmental factors with the student feedback information. This data included class size, staff/student ratio, time of day and week and even external weather! The correlation process attempted to find trends in the data set with any underlying factors, as shown here for day and time of week:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNDl9L3oa3K1t1B0JERyA4i6aY-Uh9fuoZthdwgGMH7rwyh-EVWJqVhlzDCfZjiktVmgOKwuMyzCOoGgt0XTZjUzfo8ixrQ2fEbyKUwDKOIZBOiFVlgqxJgWEU6e6mW-R40d84xl2UUs/s1344/for_smiley_face_blog_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="1344" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNDl9L3oa3K1t1B0JERyA4i6aY-Uh9fuoZthdwgGMH7rwyh-EVWJqVhlzDCfZjiktVmgOKwuMyzCOoGgt0XTZjUzfo8ixrQ2fEbyKUwDKOIZBOiFVlgqxJgWEU6e6mW-R40d84xl2UUs/w400-h143/for_smiley_face_blog_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">This 5 minute video explains the full system and summarises some of our key findings:</span><p></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="285" id="kaltura_player" mozallowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/2103181/sp/210318100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/38838661/partner_id/2103181?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura_player&entry_id=1_1rntt6pw&flashvars[streamerType]=auto&flashvars[localizationCode]=en&flashvars[leadWithHTML5]=true&flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true&flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left&flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true&flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true&flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical&flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false&flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true&flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder&flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true&flashvars[hotspots.plugin]=1&flashvars[Kaltura.addCrossoriginToIframe]=true&&wid=1_p87qvfws" title="Kaltura Player" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As shown in the video, very little environmental data correlates with the trends observed in the student satisfaction measurements. Even though we have a vast amount of data, and it confirms that MEE is doing a great job of making students happy in the labs, it is not of great use for evaluation and development. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The tool is a great way of gathering large datasets, and provides reassurance on aggregate student satisfaction, but for meaningful analysis and conclusions the data must be taken in context alongside other questionnaires, focus groups and other freeform responses.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This work was presented at the </span><a href="https://www.fie2020.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #2288bb; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">IEEE FIE Conference 2020</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, and </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE44824.2020.9274191" style="background-color: white; color: #2288bb; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the full paper can be found here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">.</span> </span></p>Adam Funnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385346536425474998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-9847930941096706722021-03-08T09:24:00.001+00:002021-03-08T10:23:10.094+00:00Real remote experiments: Using IoT to make lab work more accessible<p>During the summer of the pandemic, after the initial government lockdown prevented our students from accessing our labs, MEE gave lots of consideration to why we put on practical classes, given they are some of the most resource intensive teaching to deliver. We are now fairly comfortable with our conclusion that practical classes are critical to the effective training of engineers and are irreplaceable. When we were forced to temporarily suspend access to our workshops and laboratories, the team in MEE developed <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2020/06/codifying-approach-to-remote-practicals.html">categories of tactics</a> that can be deployed to deliver remote practicals. While some of these tactics have advantages over face to face teaching, such as simulations being flexible for the student and easily scalable to large cohorts, mostly we are attempting to mitigate the loss of the in-lab learning by replicating it as closely as possible. Of the tactics we developed, only two provide students the ability to particulate in performing “real” experiments, which we called “Performing procedure in an alternative environment” and “Synchronous remote participation”. Performing procedure in an alternative environment is great, and we have had a great deal of success with posting physically compact and somewhat inexpensive activities out to students to perform at home. But this approach generally isn’t feasible if the kit is too big, expensive or dangerous to post. And big, expensive and dangerous experiments are part of what makes Engineering fun.</p><p>There are two broad methods that can be used with synchronous remote participation. The first is to have a staff member working with students to live stream an experiment conducted in the lab. But this generates an inherent tension. Working with small groups of students allows active participation is extremely costly in staff time in order to repeat multiple times for large cohorts. Broadcasting a smaller number of repetitions to large groups of students reduces the ability for everyone to participate. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN7QNIbrOQvWFz5mHocf8hNNHPuooaYFofWo91ZV2WnWGHlRCPLFgs8SDzBzOobCdaqh5MTwUzr5KE_8zxMD38L7SPct4TrM7OPgaIQxqF9a7vGeQbbqDKLdlZo3vB6gzqzrt9HlYJZuX/s1119/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="1119" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN7QNIbrOQvWFz5mHocf8hNNHPuooaYFofWo91ZV2WnWGHlRCPLFgs8SDzBzOobCdaqh5MTwUzr5KE_8zxMD38L7SPct4TrM7OPgaIQxqF9a7vGeQbbqDKLdlZo3vB6gzqzrt9HlYJZuX/w514-h182/1.png" width="514" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Figure 1:</b> left) a computer controlled wind tunnel in the Fluids Engineering lab in the Diamond and right) interface on the computer to control wind tunnel and read instrumentation.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>The second method, and the one that we are particularly excited about, is allowing students to participate in conducting real experiments remotely using telemetry, i.e. the ability to measure things remotely. But how can this be achieved? Some of the more sophisticated experiments we run in The Diamond involve a computer for data acquisition or control of the equipment. For example, in our Fluids Engineering lab, we have computer controlled wind tunnels, as shown in figure 1. Students come into the laboratory to test aerodynamic specimens, such as aerofoils, by interacting with the computer connected to the wind tunnel, as illustrated in figure 2. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pfGyq-AYoGAPYP9P579Gl6_XmeLQcffWBoGe5XD3m3zSMddjbV_QTaaekcb27so19zuKT6zpUTuRj5kUdP1NUgzC9yOSxpPFEty5i4a7rbXvLrtIFeEf1h7bAm_auS5zD5TKBWEgrkYQ/s450/comp1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="450" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pfGyq-AYoGAPYP9P579Gl6_XmeLQcffWBoGe5XD3m3zSMddjbV_QTaaekcb27so19zuKT6zpUTuRj5kUdP1NUgzC9yOSxpPFEty5i4a7rbXvLrtIFeEf1h7bAm_auS5zD5TKBWEgrkYQ/w429-h190/comp1.png" width="429" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Figure 2:</b> Illustration of a student accessing the computer controlled experiment in the laboratory.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When students were not allowed to come into the laboratory, it seemed a reasonably quick win to use the Universities remote desktop infrastructure to allow students to access the same computer that controls the wind tunnel from a remote location, as illustrated in figure 3. We even set up a webcam so the experiments could be viewed while it was running. The experience isn’t quite a visceral as being in the same room, hearing the fan whir, but it’s pretty good. It allows students to dictate the procedure, see realtime cause and effect and generate real experimental data. </div><div><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ABwM5Zh2bObYpLm29szFXAUP0ZlSqhQEQ97cqvM2Gpr2kwCwdx1piaKfabDBjiPcpzooVoPKYAqfhi-FAmScOjrhoooWDhxWiL-yCDnf3B3arugrc0chLA-dJrt6YL1QM2_rZ5TpfT_O/s600/comp2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ABwM5Zh2bObYpLm29szFXAUP0ZlSqhQEQ97cqvM2Gpr2kwCwdx1piaKfabDBjiPcpzooVoPKYAqfhi-FAmScOjrhoooWDhxWiL-yCDnf3B3arugrc0chLA-dJrt6YL1QM2_rZ5TpfT_O/w502-h168/comp2.png" width="502" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Figure 3: </b>Illustration of a student accessing the same computer controlled experiment in the laboratory, from a remote location.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>But many experiments aren’t that sophisticated and rely on students operating controls, such as a valve, or instrumentation, such as a thermometer, that isn’t connected to a computer. Part of the justification for stand alone controls and instruments is pedagogical. There may be a particular sensation you get from specific equipment or a technique that is commonly in industry that students would benefit from being exposed to. But one of the major reasons is cost and simplicity. Buying multiple copies of computer controlled equipment, as well as the computers themselves, is more expensive. Having to turn on a computer </div><div><br /></div><div>The work presented by Dr Krys Bangert, senior engineering technician in the Fluids lab of the Diamond, at <a href="https://youtu.be/c__l-OZME7o">#dryLabsRealScience</a> network on the 3rd of March challenges the idea that turning existing experiments from stand alone to computer connected has to be costly and complex. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before lockdown, Krys was involved with a project led by Dr Adam Funnell, the academic lead for computing, control and electronic engineering in The Diamond, where Bioengineering students build their own low-cost IoT <a href="https://practicalengineeringeducation.blogspot.com/2020/10/building-bioreactor-truly.html">bioreactors</a>. Here, IoT stands for “internet of things”, which is a popular term used to describe the embedding of computers and internet connectivity into objects that wouldn’t have traditionally contained this, such as a <a href="https://en-uk.ring.com/">doorbell </a>or <a href="https://gizmodo.com/these-flip-flops-are-smart-for-the-dumbest-possible-rea-1793730937">flipflops</a>. Because of the upsurge in demand for all manner of IoT products, hardware and software technologies to support these devices are being increasingly accessible, both financially and in terms of the learning curve.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzAncOuiQQKBlaHb-4Jmnb5Ihb8z1lsj7XnN4AYPdZ0ekGOLBxUb_G2pWq89LTFiJyBIJ1kl1IfDhmYXSxisQBQbgafXWedNnWC-OVVvACH38oBR9JX5hZ4I9gahCKSSycSPA_shYROc6/s516/2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzAncOuiQQKBlaHb-4Jmnb5Ihb8z1lsj7XnN4AYPdZ0ekGOLBxUb_G2pWq89LTFiJyBIJ1kl1IfDhmYXSxisQBQbgafXWedNnWC-OVVvACH38oBR9JX5hZ4I9gahCKSSycSPA_shYROc6/s320/2.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Figure 4: </b>Student built bioreactor</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These bioreactors are capable of measuring temperature and pH, and controlling lighting, stirring and heat. Any other parameter, such as flow rate, pressure...etc, that can be measured with a digital sensor could be incorporated into a system such as this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The “brains” that control the flow of data and the operation of the reactors is the ESP32 programmable chip. These are low cost (around £20 at the time of writing), low power computers which are popular with hobbyists. The crucial feature of this particular microcontroller is that it comes with wifi and Bluetooth connectivity, meaning that it can be communicated with remotely.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Building on this approach, we considered how other teaching activities we run could be adapted to provide to students remote access to real experiments. In the Fluids Engineering, we have 20 “hydraulic benches”, which supply water from a reservoir using a pump, onto which a variety of fluid mechanics experiments can be conducted. Our vision is to use the capability of IoT to adapt the benches so that all of the existing instrumentation, both analogue and digital, is modified, so that controls and instrumentation are accessible remotely. The intention isn’t to remove the analogue measurement and physical operation, but to allow these to coexist with digital control and sensing, so either can be used.</div><div><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bAAHlUXkt7av8YixqwR7iiSr0uYhkw__eJSbkTzsHqazmFmP-T143sDEZBM43bjEthw9TyJI5jMoNqRif28rqNVeV1fg6qh0nEhaKbRPRLWy5ApFTC_0Oc6xE7UJxZfIRW4IobHg98pS/s942/3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="942" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bAAHlUXkt7av8YixqwR7iiSr0uYhkw__eJSbkTzsHqazmFmP-T143sDEZBM43bjEthw9TyJI5jMoNqRif28rqNVeV1fg6qh0nEhaKbRPRLWy5ApFTC_0Oc6xE7UJxZfIRW4IobHg98pS/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Figure 5:</b> Hydraulic benches left) Existing and right) proposed</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Our strategy here is not limited to use during a pandemic or to replace face to face access to laboratory equipment. Remote labs are less effective and enjoyable and their face to face equivalents. The objective of the IoT hydraulics bench is to maximize student access to the specialist facilities. Post covid, students could make use of the lab 9am-5pm, while others could be using it 5pm-9am, while we are not there. There are opportunities to enhance the experience of University of Sheffield students to reinforce activities they have performed in the lab, use the learning to revise for labs or catch up on classes they have missed. But as well there is opportunity to open the laboratories up to students all over the world, for the purposes of public engagement or widening participation. Can you think of any other uses for a remote access lab?</div></div><div><br /></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-53526134665824139452020-12-18T16:02:00.001+00:002020-12-18T16:37:06.412+00:00Building a bridge during a pandemic<p>Engineers in the real world work in teams on projects to
design, build and test artefacts. It is important that students, or trainee
engineers, are able to effectively function when they start work and one of our
roles as educators is to give students these experiences as part of their
studies. The first-year Civil and Structural Engineering curriculum at
Sheffield University has contained a module (CIV1200 Introduction to Civil and
Structural Engineering Design) where students design, build and test wooden
small-scale bridges (Figure 1) working in groups of up to 12. This provides a series of vital Learning
Outcomes (i.e., Interpret a project brief, produce a design and present the
results) and is important for accreditation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqP6V-dxLtZoOfa2DAmTXEE_Nb_pAMFABxcLRHcVvbSVRkfPxMQq0LcI3gYFACBxU2u8fAdJAXAEP1lVMjayAVyJDAROiH21-PpuB8zb7OZZbcH6l6oPDYaUIPJV7_WaJfKOfrE3EQDo/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="827" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqP6V-dxLtZoOfa2DAmTXEE_Nb_pAMFABxcLRHcVvbSVRkfPxMQq0LcI3gYFACBxU2u8fAdJAXAEP1lVMjayAVyJDAROiH21-PpuB8zb7OZZbcH6l6oPDYaUIPJV7_WaJfKOfrE3EQDo/w400-h133/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Figure 1:</b> Two examples of bridges built during this year lab sessions</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">Typically, the design stage of this module is supported with
lectures, tutorials and lab activities, while the making part of this module takes
place towards the end of the semester with students having access to our PUPS
(pop-up project spaces). These are cabinets on wheels filled with hand tools (Figure 2) that students
can use with minimal supervision. Historically, students have also been able to
use the iForge (our student-led Maker Space) to build their models. Finally, testing of the bridges takes place in the lab where one member of the teaching team
would carry out the load test in front of students.<o:p></o:p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06hyKFiCm19tOfXk8BtmgSeeo88za1nbSJUUbKHcyvG4Vln908kNcrDvx6gwOtaXNizlRWrwFwrRsHVhXYZxTYvfFNOvTg0R2E6SYnKxrDuvcY6qouVRP14ktLh-ENWLype1b-_7cURA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="920" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06hyKFiCm19tOfXk8BtmgSeeo88za1nbSJUUbKHcyvG4Vln908kNcrDvx6gwOtaXNizlRWrwFwrRsHVhXYZxTYvfFNOvTg0R2E6SYnKxrDuvcY6qouVRP14ktLh-ENWLype1b-_7cURA/w400-h220/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Figure 2:</b> PUPS - Pop-Up Project Space</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">With the strictures imposed by the current pandemic, the
amount of face‑to‑face (F2F) teaching has inevitably dropped across the
University. In addition, iForge was no longer in a position to support curricular
projects and, in general, the access to MEE laboratories has been severely
curtailed. For example, the Structures Laboratory where the bridge-building historically
took place had its capacity slashed from 80 to 20. Additionally, in line with
University H&S policy, students needed to stay 2 m apart, wear face
coverings, and working stations had to be sanitised after each use (Figure 3). This meant
that the module needed to be reconfigured to allow the key learning outcomes to
be achieved while keeping the students motivated and, hopefully, happy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKbDJhW2cIPNaVQ7bHt0_LcfABtRbXOKIU52P4LqI4rfcZniaUvRe5rrqGfXfvzyULLG-eLLhlux_mWKU8tI3KMCAie7tf0R_IvZBEFStRP2dgdAoaWMCXZCBccoP7AfLsnsx3GKPzHE/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="468" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKbDJhW2cIPNaVQ7bHt0_LcfABtRbXOKIU52P4LqI4rfcZniaUvRe5rrqGfXfvzyULLG-eLLhlux_mWKU8tI3KMCAie7tf0R_IvZBEFStRP2dgdAoaWMCXZCBccoP7AfLsnsx3GKPzHE/w400-h253/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Figure 3:</b> Implementation of University and departmental H&S policies during the Bridge Building lab activity</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Changes to the design stage consisted of moving lectures and
tutorials online. Pre-recorded videos of lectures were released weekly covering
basic concepts of design, while a synchronous online session was used to
provide feedback to students and have a pulse check about their engagement.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A major reorganisation was needed for the build and test part
of the course. Three main changes were made. Firstly, the testing of the
bridges was performed (as usual) by the teaching team, but here, instead of
doing this in front of the students, the test was recorded (see video below) and circulated with the students along with
all the relevant experimental results (i.e., total weight, peak load, geometrical
dimensions).</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="285" id="kaltura_player" mozallowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/2103181/sp/210318100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/38838661/partner_id/2103181?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura_player&entry_id=1_r888hnrx&flashvars[streamerType]=auto&flashvars[localizationCode]=en&flashvars[leadWithHTML5]=true&flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true&flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left&flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true&flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true&flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical&flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false&flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true&flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder&flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true&flashvars[hotspots.plugin]=1&flashvars[mediaProxy.mediaPlayFrom]=0&flashvars[Kaltura.addCrossoriginToIframe]=true&&wid=1_utcvp6kz" title="Kaltura Player" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal">The second change was that a limited amount of “service
build” (i.e., laser cutting) was provided. Historically, plywood laser cutting
would take place during the bridge building lab sessions. This allowed students
to quickly assess if the cut components matched what they intended to design
and, when necessary, amend their drawing and have parts cut again. However,
because of the aforementioned limitations, a new procedure resembling the
typical designer/ contractor relationship was introduced. Students (designer) created
files for their parts which were submitted ahead of time. Staff (contractor) reviewed
the files, provided feedback when necessary and manufactured the parts making
them available to students on the day of the first timetabled Bridge Building
lab session. This new procedure worked very well for the majority of groups,
however, in a few instances some problems in the submitted files (e.g., wrong size,
unintended cutting lines) were discovered only once students turned up to the
Building Session, generating some delays in the delivery of the amended parts. Also,
one of the group experienced some delays as the student responsible for the parts
drawing was working remotely in a different time zone and was not available at
the time of the first building session.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, the actual build was made simulating an assembly
line. One student from each group was able to access one of the PUPS at a time.
They had a maximum time of 12 hours per group, with bookable slots of
1 hour. Handover between one team member and the next was achieved by the
expedient of positioning a Perspex sheet across the middle of the working
station so that the finishing student could communicate effectively with the
new starter. Figure 4 provides an example of the working station. The finishing student, after sanitising the working station, all
tools used and the bridge itself, left the space and the new one took over on
the build. The service manufactured parts were incorporated into the build with
the additional material provided (A4 papers, string, steel washers, wooden
dowels). During the building session, students were encouraged to use digital
devices to remotely connect with other group members to discuss arising problems
and not to feel left alone. Throughout the activity GTAs, technical staff, and
academics were available to support students and to provide feedback. These strategies
were successful as most of the groups engaged well with the activity completing
the bridge well ahead of time. Initial informal feedback suggests that the
activity was generally well-received. It should also be pointed out that some
groups lamented the limited engagement of some groups members which resulted in
additional workload and pressure; others effectively managed the different tasks
even when students were not in Sheffield for the semester.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjXmQGEdDYUMPblIpHHHvaI0k5FKAwgn-DE0Puqq-faqj9J8xoIgXdwkKzw2DJCOHThdkBwVaTyX63AaTkCmepKJUA65jrpoIifhbW7SWRkj1a4S-036l1Q3-3F8cwmWnvGF7PfhtNY4/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="354" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjXmQGEdDYUMPblIpHHHvaI0k5FKAwgn-DE0Puqq-faqj9J8xoIgXdwkKzw2DJCOHThdkBwVaTyX63AaTkCmepKJUA65jrpoIifhbW7SWRkj1a4S-036l1Q3-3F8cwmWnvGF7PfhtNY4/w400-h333/image.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Figure 4:</b> Typical working station</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal">Going forward, some of the elements developed to deal with
the restrictions imposed by the pandemics will be, at least conceptually, retained.
In particular, the designer/contractor relationship will be further exploited,
and the assembly line model will be optimized to allow two students on each workstation
in order to more effectively promote teamwork. Already next semester, given the
successful implementation, a similar approach to building artefacts is expected to be rolled out to other modules.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
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</div>Matteo Di Benedettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09531004049291015478noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2993074453771385350.post-76505213373681424912020-12-06T15:07:00.000+00:002020-12-06T15:07:24.692+00:00A Practical Engineering Education Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/2833037/pexels-photo-2833037.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/2833037/pexels-photo-2833037.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It feels like a long time since March when the unprecedented disruption to our traditional ways of teaching suddenly took hold. Since then, there has been a flurry of innovation brought about through necessity combined with limited opportunity to travel to conferences to disseminate and share what has been learned. With real possibility of a vaccine bringing an end to the effects of the pandemic, it is time to start planning events that bring like minded educators together. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our department, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sheffield.ac.uk%2Fengineering%2Fdiamond%2Fabout&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFMf_AIBldDd_9gz_EmTUcOdUQpBg">Multidisciplinary Engineering Education</a>, is dedicated to the delivery of practical engineering education, and we feel that now is the perfect opportunity to start a conference specifically about the subject. In September 2021 we plan to run the inaugural "Practical Engineering Education 2021 Conference". </div><div><br /></div>Engineering is fundamentally about designing or optimising things, be they tangible or conceptual, and this is reflected in the state of the art of Engineering Education which often favours the introduction of real world and problem based approaches rather than the delivery of abstract theory. <div><br /></div><div>Testing, along with making and evaluating, is a necessary requirement within any engineering design cycle process. This is why it is widely acknowledged that experimentation is an integral part, and included in almost all, engineering programmes. It is these teaching methods that will be the focus of the conference.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee/home">Practical Engineering Education 2021</a> aims to bring together specialists from across the world to exchange idea and best practice on the teaching of practical engineering in further and higher education. The focus will be on prototyping, testing, experimentation, validation and any other laboratory related teaching. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>Since the widespread suspension of face to face teaching due to the Covid-19 pandemics, practical engineering education has received a renewed interest due to the challenges in pivoting this type of learning into a remote format. The disruption has engendered innovative practical teaching methods that deserves to be shared with the engineering education community. <div><div><br /></div><div>While the conference is targeted at practical engineering education, the significant crossover with laboratory teaching in science and other disciplines provides the opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge. Practical teaching from other disciplines can inform engineering education, and vice versa, allowing practitioners to learn from one another. <br /><div><br /></div></div>We are still in the planning stages, so specific details are yet to be decided. The conference will be held in the Diamond Building in Sheffield, UK during September 2021. We are asking for potential attendees, presenters, sponsors, exhibitors or steering committee members to <a href="https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/pee/register-interest?authuser=0">register their interest</a> to help with planning and to receive news and updates as planning progresses. We are working with the organisers of the enormously successful <a href="https://unimaker.iforgesheffield.org/">Unimaker </a>conference, hosted by Sheffield University's <a href="https://iforgesheffield.org/">iForge</a>, to facilitate delegates attending both if they wish. <div><br /></div><div>The conference will be held in the University's Diamond building. This purpose built learning and teaching facility houses lecture theatres, seminar rooms and multidisciplinary workshops and laboratories, making it the perfect backdrop for the event. And the planning committee is currently considering how best to make best use of this fantastic space, and I'm sure there will be some entertaining activities included in the programme. </div></div></div></div></div>Andrew Garrardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00275316119645163596noreply@blogger.com0