Undergraduate cross-class research projects for deep learning in engineering education

Abstract

For many years, educators have been developing tools and techniques to improve the learning process in higher education; however, the vast majority of these do not focus directly on deep learning. In this work, an innovative teaching/learning tool is presented which focuses on deep learning of some engineering skills and principles. The tool is known as the undergraduate cross-class research project (UCCRP) which relies on hands-on projects that students can work on throughout their 4-6 years of undergraduate studies with a mixture of students from all undergraduate levels and mentored by peers, TAs, and instructors. The UCCRP was successfully implemented at Texas A&M University at Qatar and the details of one project and its results are delineated here. Student selfassessment, competency based assessment, and the "structure of the observed learning outcome (SOLO)" technique are used to assess the level of attainment of the intended learning outcomes (ILOs).