ERIC Number: EJ1052956
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0304-3797
EISSN: N/A
Consensus-Based Course Design and Implementation of Constructive Alignment Theory in a Power System Analysis Course
Vanfretti, Luigi; Farrokhabadi, Mostafa
European Journal of Engineering Education, v40 n2 p206-221 2015
This article presents the implementation of the constructive alignment theory (CAT) in a power system analysis course through a consensus-based course design process. The consensus-based design process involves both the instructor and graduate-level students and it aims to develop the CAT framework in a holistic manner with the goal of including different perceptions. The considerations required to implement this approach are described in detail. To examine the effect of this approach, three different course evaluations were conducted by querying the students during different stages of the course. These evaluations show that most of the students find a benefit for their learning in the implementation of CAT within the new course design. These observations are supported by a comparison of the students' performance in the new course and the previous one. Finally, the revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) is utilised to identify the students' learning approach towards the course. The aim is to correlate the students' approach with their final grade to assess if students adopting a deep learning approach are rewarded with higher marks and vice versa, that is, to check if the CAT implementation was successful. Meanwhile, some of the R-SPQ-2F limitations, which affect the quality of the results, are identified and discussed. Additionally, to facilitate the practical usage of R-SPQ-2F, an algorithm was developed by the authors to rank the students' approach towards the course. The results of the new ranking algorithm demonstrate positive correlation with the students' final grade, which is an indication of the effective CAT implementation.
Descriptors: Alignment (Education), Engineering Education, Power Technology, Systems Analysis, Graduate Students, Curriculum Design, Curriculum Evaluation, Grades (Scholastic), Correlation, Learning Processes, Teacher Student Relationship, Curriculum Development, Feedback (Response), Stakeholders, Curriculum Implementation, Foreign Countries, Questionnaires
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Study Process Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A