The Assessment of Learning in Engineering Education: Practice and Policy

Explores how we judge engineering education in order to effectively redesign courses and programs that will prepare new engineers for various professional and academic careers

This book considers the functions of assessment and its measurement in engineering education. Chapters two through three discuss efforts toward alternative curriculum in engineering and advanced level exams for university entry in engineering science. Chapter four reviews investigations of what engineers do at work and their implications assessment. Chapter five records the development of competency based assessment and considers its implications for the engineering curriculum. Chapter six discusses the impact of the accrediting authorities on assessment, outcomes based assessment, taxonomies and assessment in mastery and personalized systems of instruction. Chapters seven through eight consider student variability (e.g. intellectual development, emotional intelligence) and reflective practice. Questions are raised about the assessment of communication, creativity, innovation, teamwork, and the role of projects in integrated learning in chapter nine. Chapter ten though eleven focus on the implementation of outcomes based assessment, and the implications of two theories of competence for the design of the curriculum and its assessment. The book concludes by discussing assessment, moral purpose and social responsibility in the light of changes in the workforce, the role of educational institutions in preparation for industry, the need for lifelong education, and new approaches to assessment, and credentialing.

• Shows how present approaches to assessment were shaped and what the future holds
• Analyzes the validity of teaching and judging engineering education
• Shows the integral role that assessment plays in curriculum design and implementation
• Examines the sociotechnical system’s impact on engineering curricula

This book is intended for engineering educators who aim to acquire a defensible theory of assessment and for policy makers looking to align engineering courses with industry practice.

John Heywood is a Professorial Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. He was awarded the best research publication award of the Division for the Professions of the American Educational Research Association in 2006 for his book “Engineering Education: Research and Development in Curriculum and Instruction” published by Wiley/IEEE. He is co-author of Analysing Jobs– a study of engineers at work. His other publications include three books on Assessment in Higher Education. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.