2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 125: Work in Progress: Faculty Experiences and Learning Through Oral-Assessment Implementation in Engineering Courses

Presented at Faculty Development Division (FDD) Poster Session

This WIP qualitative research paper explores faculty experiences with implementing oral exams in high-enrollment undergraduate engineering courses at a research university. With a primary goal to improve conceptual mastery, as well as a desire to ensure academic integrity in the sudden move to remote instruction at the height of the pandemic, a group of faculty in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments implemented oral assessments in their own engineering courses across several quarters. They formed a research group with educational developers in a teaching and learning center on campus, and investigated the impact of oral assessments on student learning, as well as the impact on faculty. To examine the impact on faculty, 90-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted with six faculty members to explore how the implementation of oral assessments informed: 1) Their perspectives of teaching and learning and their teaching practices; and 2) how oral assessments contributed to faculty/student interactions with undergraduate students in their courses and graduate student Instructional Assistants. Applying growth mindset (Dweck, 2006) as a framework, data were analyzed by using grounded theory guidelines. This WIP paper highlights how the growth-oriented mindset of faculty enabled student-centered instructional design for deeper conceptual mastery, connections between students and the instructional team, and faculty’s own growth in their teaching journey (or, reflective teaching practices). It also highlights the benefits and challenges experienced by faculty and recommendations for implementing oral assessments for others interested in implementing oral assessments for similar purposes. We would like this WIP paper to be considered for a poster presentation at ASEE 2024.

Authors

Dr. Minju Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5878-7350 University of California, San Diego [biography]

Minju Kim is a postdoctoral scholar at the Engaged Teaching Hub at the UCSD Teaching+Learning Commons. Minju received her Ph.D in Experimental Psychology at UC San Diego. With Engaged Teaching Hub, Minju has designed TA training materials for oral exams and have conducted quantitative analysis on the value of oral exams as early diagnostic tool (Kim et al., ASEE 2022). Minju is interested in designing assessments that can capture and motivate students' deep conceptual learning, such as oral exams and the usage of visual representations (e.g., diagrams and manual gestures).
Dr. Carolyn L Sandoval University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr. Sandoval is the Senior Director of Instruction and Pedagogy and Director of the Engaged Teaching Hub at the Teaching + Learning Commons at the University of California, San Diego. She earned a PhD in Adult Education-Human Resource Development. Her research interests include adult learning and development, faculty development, qualitative methods of inquiry, and social justice education.
Josephine Relaford-Doyle University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr. Josephine Relaford-Doyle is an Education Specialist at UC San Diego, where she supports faculty in their teaching with particular focus on equity, anti-racist pedagogy, and authentic assessment. Her research background is in Cognitive Science and Mathematics Education, and includes mixed-methods study of undergraduates' conceptualizations in mathematics.
Torus Washington II University of California, San Diego [biography]

Torus Washington II is a Graduate Teaching Consultant at the Engaged Teaching Hub and serves as part of the Teaching and Learning Commons support team to conduct teaching consultations, observations, and workshops in addition to research and analysis for academic journal submissions. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Nanoengineering program where his research broadly focuses on cancer nanomedicine and nanoparticle drug delivery. He completed his undergraduate education at Georgia Institute of Technology (2010-2015) and his Master’s at the University of Central Florida (2015-2017). He hopes to leverage his skills in the future to create life-saving nanomedicine. His primary teaching interests include the role of student interest in learning as well as teaching for knowledge retention.
Dr. Saharnaz Baghdadchi University of California, San Diego [biography]

Saharnaz Baghdadchi is an Associate Teaching Professor at UC San Diego. She is interested in scholarly teaching and employs active learning techniques to empower students to attain an expert level of critical thinking. Her expertise facilitates students' journey towards connecting facts with practical knowledge to tackle intricate engineering challenges. She excels in crafting innovative assessments and explores their impact on enhancing students' learning outcomes and fostering an inclusive educational environment.
Dr. Nathan Delson University of California, San Diego [biography]

Nathan Delson, Ph.D. is a Senior Teaching Professor at the University of California at San Diego. His interests include robotics, biomedical devices, product design, engineering education, and Maker spaces. In 1999 he co-founded Coactive Drive Corporation (currently General Vibration), a company that provides force feedback solutions. In 2016 Nate co-founded eGrove Education an educational software company focused on teaching sketching and spatial visualization skills.
Dr. Marko Lubarda http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3755-271X University of California, San Diego [biography]

Marko Lubarda is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He teaches mechanics, materials science, computational analysis, and engineering mathematics courses, an
Dr. Alex M. Phan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2886 University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr. Alex Phan is the inaugural Executive Director for Student Success in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Prior to his appointment, he has served as an engineering instructor teaching across multiple divisions, including the Jacobs School of Engineering (Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Eng., Dean's Office Unit) and UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. His teaching interests and expertise are in experiential learning, holistic education models, active learning environments, and metacognition. In his current role, he leads the IDEA Student Center, a prolific student-centered resource hub at the Jacobs School that serves as a model for student success units across the country.
Prof. Curt Schurgers University of California, San Diego [biography]

Curt Schurgers is a Teaching Professor in the UCSD Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. His research and teaching are focused on course redesign, active learning, and project-based learning. He also co-directs a hands-on undergraduate research program called Engineers for Exploration, in which students apply their engineering knowledge to problems in exploration and conservation.
Dr. Huihui Qi University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr.Huihui Qi is an Associate Teaching Professor in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, at the University of California San Diego.

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