2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 44A: Work in Progress: Unannounced Frequent Examinations to contribute student learning and building academic integrity

Presented at Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL) Poster Session

Self-assessment is an intrinsic characteristic in human development. Since the first seconds of breathing, humans test their experience to form and advance their knowledge. However, in the current western educational system, evaluations, a natural human process, have turned into activities that bring stress, anxiety, and nervousness to students. For this, researchers replace most of the set exams for unannounced constant examinations throughout the semester. Along with these, the course design included activities that supported students’ knowledge to be prepared for the new type of examination. Researchers applied these examinations in two courses of structural analysis in civil engineering and one course of Structures in architecture, with a total of 63 students. At the end of the semester, we conducted a survey to learn students’ perceptions and their feelings with these types of evaluations. The results indicate students find unannounced constant evaluations to be helpful in their learning process. Although students were nervous at the beginning of the semester, the supporting activities throughout the semester were helpful to improve their examination performance, and their overall course performed. Finally, students feel more confident with their knowledge after the course due to the unannounced constant examinations. The authors discuss the possible factors driving the results, next steps and explore the avenues academia could take to form better assessment methods in the direction to build academic integrity. Implications for research and practice are provided.

Authors

Mr. John Mario Bonilla USFQ [biography]

John Bonilla is an undergraduate student in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. John’s interests, in civil engineering include infrastructure development and transportation. Furthermore, John is interested in supporting the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but also a strong ethical set of values. Currently John is working on his application to pursue his graduate studies to develop a stronger set of engineering skills to ethically develop infrastructure.
Mr. Miguel Santiago Valarezo USFQ [biography]

Miguel Santiago Valarezo Rodriguez is an undergraduate student in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. Miguel's interestS, in civil engineering include Structural analysis and Bridge desing. Furthermore, Miguel is interested in supporting the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but also a strong ethical set of values. Currently Miguel is working on his application to pursue his graduate studies to develop a stronger set of engineering skills to ethically develop infrastructure.
Mr. Brandon Danilo Villacrés Universidad San Francisco de Quito [biography]

Brandon Danilo Villacrés García is an undergraduate student in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. Brandon's interests, in civil engineering include the structural analysis and earthquake resistant engineering. Furthermore, Brandon is interested in supporting the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but also a strong ethical set of values. Currently, Brandon is working on his application to pursue his graduate studies to develop a stronger set of engineering skills to ethically develop infraestructure.
Dr. Miguel Andres Guerra http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7496-3753 Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ [biography]

MiguelAndrés is an Assistant Professor in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from USFQ, an M.Sc. in Construction Engineering and Project Management from Iowa State University as a Fulbright Scholar, a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech, and two Graduate Certificates from Virginia Tech in Engineering Education and Future Professoriate. MiguelAndrés's research includes sustainable infrastructure design and planning, smart and resilient cities, and the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but the social awareness and agency to address global humanitarian, environmental, and social justice challenges. For him, social justice is a concept that should always be involved in discussions on infrastructure. Related to STEM education, Miguel Andrés is in developing and applying contemporary pedagogies for STEM courses, teaching empathy studies in engineering as a tool for innovation, and assessing engineering students' agency to address climate change. Currently, MiguelAndrés is validating his framework of a Blended & Flexible Learning approach that focusses on STEM courses and its practical adaptation to overcome barriers brought up by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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