COLMSCT Associate Teaching Fellow
Engaging students in an
engineering community
Project - executive summary
May 2010
Kath Clay
kc58@tutor.open.ac.uk
Project Nov 2007 – Dec 2009
Centre for Open Learning of Mathematics, Science,
Computing and Technology
Engaging Students in an engineering community
Kath Clay
Executive Summary.
This project was designed to investigate, define and evaluate a model for developing
an engineering community within the Open University.
Engineering is a recognised and growing professional subject area within the Open
University (OU) within the large and diverse faculty of Maths Computing and
Technology (MCT). The subject area has named degrees profiles and a defined
programme of study pathways options (OU, 2009). Many students enrolled on the
programme aim to attain professional recognition via a range of Institutes after
completion of their studies. (These Institutes all use common criteria defined by the
Engineering Council of the United Kingdom (ECUK, 2008). Students currently
registered on the Engineering Programme do not have any other formalised identity or
continuity of contact within the OU other than occasionally ‘meeting’ the same
students on some common courses throughout their student experience.
Engineering student surveys characterised their e-communication behaviour as
infrequent and probable circumspect users of social communication software who are
pragmatic and require identified aims before electing to participate. However, the
students acknowledge derived benefit from e-collaboration but they also appear to
have low tolerance of social chatter. This direct data also revealed the engineering
students’ awareness of their learning needs and their attitudes to peer interactions have
links with their identified OU collaboration behaviour. Students also noted
professional development support as a strong motivator for engagement with a larger
programme rather than a course sepicific community.
The above, along with research data from academic and Associate Lecturer staff and
other indirect information were used to develop the aims, content and structure
(usability and sociability issues) required within a potential engineering e-community.
A model for the said community was proposed which had two generic aims. The first,
to provide different elements of student support within 4 defined fields (professional
development - acquiring professional Institute recognition, careers and employability,
academic transition and the OU Engineering Project) and the second, to develop a
sense of identity and belonging within it main stakeholder group, the student. An
audit of the model indicated its potential of fulfilling these aims.
The development of this model was deliberately separated from the ongoing
Engineering subject pathway Student Support Review Pilot Project (launched during
the second half of this COLMSCT project). The challenge ahead for the Engineering
unit and faculty will centre on investigating its adaption, integration and
implementation within mandatory student support changes within the next two years.
The results relating to the model development have been (or are planned to be) shared
more widely, both within and beyond the Open University.
Related Engineering programme Associate Lecturer staff development work was
completed as part the project activity.
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