Things I've tried in teaching engineering

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Slides by Nathan Quinlan from the Teaching and Learning Workshop in Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway, 22 May 2014.

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Some thoughts about teaching and learning

Depth is more important than breadth.

How we learn is more important than what we learn.

We learn by doing.

“You make a great mistake in envying me any of my qualities. Very often what you take for some special quality of mind is merely facility arising from constant practice, and you could do as well or better with like practice.”

Wilbur Wright

What’s our job?

Communicate expert knowledge?

Motivate learning?

Support learning?

Does lecturing work?

How much do you learn from the talks at a conference?

Things I’ve tried

Engagement Engineering Learning Cost Limitations

Student presentations and debates

good good < 0<50 students

how to assure technical content?

Things I’ve tried

Engagement Engineering Learning Cost Limitations

Student presentations and debates

good good <0<50 students

how to assure technical content?

Scrapheap design-build-test great mixed huge

groups

facilities

Scrapheap design-build-test

Scrapheap design-build-test

Things I’ve tried

Engagement Engineering Learning Cost Limitations

Student presentations and debates

good good < 0<50 students

how to assure technical content?

Scrapheap design-build-test excellent mixed huge

groups

facilities

In-class problems + walking around mixed mixed 0

<50 students

room layout

Online video tutorials

[My cousins] told me that they preferred me on YouTube than in person… now they can pause and repeat their cousin… the very last thing you need is another human being saying, "Do you understand this?"

Sal Khan www.khanacademy.org

How many of my students watch?

Views from Ireland only, 2014

examstart of

semester

View

s pe

r day

date

Total: 312 views 2.5 views per student

How much of the video do they watch?fr

actio

n of

vid

eo

wat

ched

time into video (mm:ss)

Average length of view: 47%

How many of my students watch?

Views from Ireland only, sem 2 2013 Vi

ews

per d

ay

date

Total: 484 views 5.3 views per student

How much of the video do they watch?

time into video (mm:ss)

Average length of view: 47%

frac

tion

of v

ideo

w

atch

ed

Setup

Camstudio

Smoothdraw

Calculator

Wacom Pen & Touch (€100)

Webcam or headset mic

VirtualDub for editing

Online discussion and Q&A: piazza.com

Online discussion sample

Online discussion sample

Student opinion of Piazza vs Blackboard

Online Q&A – 4th year

Online Q&A – 3rd year

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