Maximizing the effectiveness of one-time standards instruction sessions with formative assessment

Abstract

There are multiple obstacles associated with integrating standards education into the college curriculum, including the limited experience faculty may have with standards, and the difficulty to fit such training into an already-packed engineering course schedule. Facing these challenges, a faculty member, an engineering librarian, and a professional from a leading standard developing organization worked together to create a customizable course module that can be easily fit into existing engineering courses. The module includes an instruction session, a case study relevant to the topic of the course, assignments, and guest speakers (through videos and/or campus visit). The one-time instruction session employs formative assessment activities to identify and correct misconceptions and to build knowledge on standards applications. Formative assessment has been identified as an excellent tool for facilitating understanding and maximizing the effectiveness of a one-shot instruction session. The first iteration of this module has been delivered twice, first in a small class (10 students) and then in a large class (95 students) in two consecutive semesters. The effectiveness of the first session was evaluated by conducting pre- and post-tests and by collecting students' feedback. Based on the results, changes were implemented for the second session. This paper presents the evolution of the project and the challenges encountered.