1

Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV)

Luis M. Sanchez-Ruiz Jose A. Moraño Dolors Roselló

Santiago E. Moll

TEEM 2014 Salamanca

Mathematics Competences Assessment at Lab sessions of Aerospace Engineering

Freshmen

BEng Aerospace Engineering is one of the degrees delivered at ETSID in the UPV.

We use an educational platform based upon the Sakai project [1], known as PoliformaT.

We will focus on Mathematics I [3] which is an annual compulsory subject delivered in the first year. From a total of 120 contact hours (12 ECTS), 75% corresponds to TP sessions and the rest, 25%, to Lab practice (LP) sessions.

We applied this innovation on laboratory practice (LP) sessions by trying to prepare and evaluate for each session at least one of the competences taught in the Theory/Problems (TP) sessions.

2

Introduction

Objective: minimize dropouts and losses of interest by maintaining them most active throughout the course.

Objective: design a new way to assess the students promoting continuous work.

Methodology: Every Lab session has been changed from a traditional system to another one based on a flipped classroom methodology [4-5].

The students are requested to prepare adequately each Lab session before coming to class, avoiding the need to devote classroom time to explain and perform easy examples that can be self-learnt.

We aim firstly to increase the motivation and improve the perception of the Mathematics subject by engineering freshmen, to avoid dropouts and achieve a faster and more natural acquisition of the specific mathematical competences. 3

Introduction

5

Previous work: Resources tool

• Lecturers:

- Provide on a weekly basis the material with the needed information.

• Students:

- Learn to solve the type of exercises they will work in the following session.

- Use recently mathematical knowledge achieved in the Theoretical sessions.

- Receive a list of exercises to check if they have really understood the topic.

6

Class work (1st Part. 30’): Doubts

• Time to clarify any doubt that they might have.

• Lecturer shows the solutions of the proposed exercises

Imagen Mathematica

7

Class work (2nd Part. 30’): Test&Quizzes tool

• Students have to solve some exercises by Poliformat.

• Instructor is available to assist the students.

• Exercises have to be done individually in Lab classroom.

• Control: Restricted IPs, Usernames and Password, Time, etc.

8

After Class: Gradebook tool

• All grading results may be automatically uploaded.

• Selecting any session from the Gradebook we are able to see, filter and reorder the marks.

9

After Class: Gradebook tool

• All grading results may be automatically uploaded.

• Selecting any session from the Gradebook we are able to see, filter and reorder the marks.

10

Obtained Marks

• Lab classes marks comparative

• We may note that the mean of the weekly sessions is higher than the mean of TP-exams and LP-exams.

• The rate of success is significantly high.

• The average score of LP exams of each student differs in less than two points with the average score of TP exam, in approximately 70% of data.

TP – Exam Ex1 Ex2 Ex3

6.1 6.6 6.9

LP – Exam ELP1 ELP2

5.64 7.62

WLP 27 – sessions

8.79

11

- SUSP stands for the scores in the interval [0,5[ out of a 10 points scale (Suspenso in Spanish).

- A stands for the scores between 5 (included) and 7 (not included) (Aprobado in Spanish).

- N for the scores in the interval [7,9[ (Notable in Spanish).

- SOB for outstanding performance with scores greater than or equal to 9 (Sobresaliente in Spanish).

Scores Distribution

12

Survey about the PLs in general

- Most of the students have thought that practices that had been done were very consistent within the course.

Do you think that the number of practices undertaken is adequate to learn the content of the subject? %

Yes 85 %

There should be more 7 %

There should be less 7 %

Do you think the assessment of laboratory practice in each session fits to the content developed previously to and during that session? %

Much 29 %

Enough 58 %

Little 13 %

13

About the use of Poliformat in PLs

- They do not have a negative perspective towards the use of the platform

- 2-7% think it is more difficult to learn by using it and just 5-11% do not like being evaluated at the end of each session.

Using PoliformaT in the laboratory practices: %

Makes easier to learn the contents of the subject 84 %

Makes more difficult to learn the contents of the subject 2 %

Makes no difference in learning the contents of the subject 14 %

I think that being evaluated in lab practice through PoliformaT at the end of each practice session is good for my learning: %

Yes, it’s good 76 %

No, it is not good 5 %

I don’t know 18 %

15

Conclusions and References

• Conclusions: During the 2013/2014 academic year we have changed the methodology of Lab classes in the Mathematics I subject of the first year of BEng Aerospace Engineering at the Engineering Design School ETSID of Technical University of Valencia UPV.

This change is based on a flip teaching methodology. It is necessary an extensive development of materials for the adequate preparation of each session as well as for a proper development of the sessions.

The implementation of this new methodology makes an intensive use of an educational platform developed at UPV, and known as PoliformaT.

The learning process applied has proven to be helpful in reducing the number of dropouts and has motivated students to perform a continuous learning process.

Excellent scores were by the students, reinforcing the point of view of the authors about this methodology.

In addition, every student is being weekly evaluated which implies a high degree of continuity in its assessment.

References

[1] Sánchez-Ruiz, L.M., Moraño, J.A. 2010. Mathematics for Engineering from a platform based in the project

Sakai. In Conference Proceedings International Conference on Engineering Education ICEE (Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice (Poland) 18-22 July, Paper 1084_1241).

[2] Sánchez-Ruiz, L.M., Moraño, J.A. and Roselló, M.D. 2012. Fitting mathematics to EHEA in Aerospace Engineering at ETSID in Valencia (Spain). In Proceedings of International Conference on Engineering Education (ICEE) (Turku, Finland, Paper 221).

[3] Teaching guide of Mathematics I in Design Engineering Higher Technical School of Technical University of Valencia http://www.upv.es/pls/oalu/sic_asi.ficha_Asig?P_ASI=11871&P_IDIOMA=c&P_VISTA=&P_CACA=2013

[4] Bergmann, J., Overmyer, J. and Wilie, B. 2013. The Flipped Class: What it is and What it is Not. The Daily Riff (July 2013). http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php

[5] Hughes, H. 2012. Introduction to flipping the college classroom. In Proceedings of world conference on educational multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications. (April Chesapeake, pp. 2434-2438).

[6] Toto, R. and Nguyen, H. 2009. Flipping the work design in an industrial engineering course. 39th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference. (October 2009), Session T4F.

[7] Demetry, C. 2010. Work in progress - An innovation merging Classroom Flip and Team-Based Learning. 40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference. (October 2010). Session T1E.

[8] Moraño, J.A. and Sánchez-Ruiz, L.M. 2012. Cálculo y álgebra con Mathematica 8. Ed. Universitat Politècnica de València.

[9] Beck, L., Chizhik, A. 2013. Cooperative learning instructional methods for CS1: Design, implementation, and evaluation. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE) - Special Issue on Alternatives to Lecture in the Computer Science Classroom 13, 3 (Aug. 2013, Article No. 10). DOI = 10.1145/2492686

[10] Eplion, D.M. and Keefe, T.J. 2007. Practical Tips for Preventing Cheating on Online Exams. Online Cl@ssroom.

16

17

Thanks!

Mathematics For Engineering from the platform PoliformaT