Redesigning a Postgraduate Software Engineering Module to Increase Engagement

The COVID-19 pandemic required a complete transition to online teaching. With valid concerns of a potential decrease in student engagement, it was necessary to focus on the most effective learning strategies and reduce cognitive load. The software engineering professional practice postgraduate module at University College London uses flipped learning, providing resources prior to online discussions scheduled during normal lecture time. Questionnaires before topics establish student's level of knowledge and ensure well-understood concepts are not repeated. This allowed increased time for more challenging and engaging content. Industry guest speaker talks are integrated with academic lectures and provide alternative perspectives for each topic. Some industry speakers had less time during the current academic year to prepare videos so alternative ‘fireside chats' (as occur in industry conferences) were employed to reduce speakers' preparation time. Analysis, across several measures indicates these changes to both academic and industry sessions have led to more than a 26% increase in student engagement. Whilst this required a substantial increase in workload for lecturers much of this development work can be utilized again in the future. The current module design also gives both academic and industry speakers a greater range of options in delivering their content.