Reflections on the implementation of CDIO:
Key Learning for Implementing Large-Scale
Curriculum Innovation
Education (like Life) is an Experiment
It needs a Purpose, then a Design to attain that
Purpose
CDIO an Experiment in Engineering Education
For those
For those who like
“The Big Read”
Over 110 institutions worldwide and still grow
Asia Region
Singapore Polytechnic (Regional Centre)
Nanyang Polytechnic
Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Kanazawa Technical College
Rajamangala University Thanyaburi
Chulalongkorn University
Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City
Duy Tan University
Thu Dau Mot University
Mongolia University of Science and Technology
School of Engineering at Taylor's University College
Shantou University (Regional Centre)
Tsinghua University
Beijing Jiaotong University
Dalian Neusoft Institute of Information
Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology
Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Vocational Technology
College of Light Industry, Hebei United University
Yanshan University
The CDIO Education Framework was
the result of....
•
Feedback from industries, graduates and
practising engineers that certain important
professional skills are not developed in the
existing curriculum.
•
Students finding that engineering is too dry
and theoretical in the first year of study
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Why is it called CDIO?
Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate is the
context of Engineering Education
It’s what engineers do
We believe that every graduating engineer should be able to:
Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate complex value-added
engineering products, processes, and systems in a modern,
team-based environment
(Crawley et al 2007)
Two BIG Questions for
Engineering (any) Education
WHAT knowledge, skills and
attitudes should students possess
as they graduate from university?
(PURPOSE)
HOW can we do better at ensuring
that students learn these skills?
(PEDAGOGIC DESIGN)
CDIO OVERVIEW
The activities within the CDIO Initiative are based on
two key documents
What : CDIO Syllabus
– Disciplinary
Knowledge
– Personal Skills
– Interpersonal Skills
– CDIO Skills
How : 12 Standards
– Curriculum
– Teaching & Learning
Methods
– Workspace
– Faculty Competence
– Assessment
CDIO Standards
Standard 1
Adopt CDIO as a context
Curriculum
Standard 2
Standard 3
Standard 4
Standard 5
CDIO Syllabus Outcomes
Integrated Curriculum
Introduction to Engineering
Design-Build Experiences
Workspace/Labs
Standard 6
CDIO Workspaces
Standard 7
Standard 8
Integrated Learning Experiences
Active Learning
Teaching & Learning Methods
Enhancement of Faculty
Competence
Assessment Methods
Standard 9 Enhancement of Staff CDIO Skills
Standard 10 Enhancement of Staff Teaching Skills
Standard 11 CDIO Skills Assessment
Standard 12 CDIO Program Evaluation
After several years of implementation what did we learn that was critical to
success?
1: The need for a Catalyst
The push for change typically involves a ‘catalyst’ (Timperley,
2008) that challenges existing arrangements.
The catalyst for change in this context was a growing disquiet
generally in many countries that existing engineering education
programmes were not meeting the demands of the modern
workplace, attrition rates in engineering courses are particularly
high, and an increasing number of student complaints that the
content was dry and boring, especially in the first year of study.
2: A Positive Perception (belief) for some initial
buy-in
Perception is Everything, and Beliefs are no more than
perceptions that have been around a long time
• Education has been as Sallis and Hingley (1991) asserted
“…a creature of fashion” (p.9) and many in the
profession have long complained of ‘initiative fatigue’.
• Without teachers believing that there is real value in terms
of gains in student learning and attainment from a new
initiative, significant buy-in is unlikely. As Fullan (2007)
argued:
…changes in beliefs and understanding (first principles)
are the foundation of achieving lasting reform. (p.33)
What Shaped a Positive Perception at SP
• CDIO is a framework conceived by engineers for engineering
education – hence greater potential face validity
• The standards are guiding heuristics not prescriptive – hence
open to dialogue and establishing relevance in the local
context Furthermore, it was not over-hyped as the “best thigs
since sliced bread” – but as a framework for possible
improvements in the student learning experience
• Voluntary, but supported by Senior Management
3: Getting The Outcomes RIGHT
…it is a major mistake to take any published list of basic skills or competencies
and accept it for use on another campus without revision. Not only will the
Specific items on such a list vary from institution to institution but the definition
of each item will vary as well. The final list of competencies, their definitions,
and how they should be assessed must evolve on each campus.
Faculty ownership in the process is an essential element for success.
(Diamond,1988, p.53)
What we did to achieve the “Right Outcomes”
To produce a customized CDIO syllabus for SP a working group of
representatives from the various engineering schools was
established to systematically work through all the CDIO Skills,
with a remit to:
• Identify which skills were most appropriate in the SP context
• Decide a viable proficiency level
• Write specific learning objectives that are measurable.
4: Clarity of key outcomes components
A central component of the CDIO framework is integration of knowledge and
skills to provide more authentic holistic learning experiences. Of key
importance was the integration of a range of key thinking skills (e.g. critical
thinking, creative thinking and metacognition).
However, as Wagner’s (2010) documented
• In schools, critical thinking has long been a buzz phrase. Educators pay lip
service to its importance, but few can tell me what they mean by the
phrase or how they teach and test it... (p.16)
• For the most part, teachers haven’t been trained to teach students how to
think. (xxiv)
The Challenge of Integrating thinking Skills
• There are many models of thinking in the literature (e.g., Marzano, 1988;
Swartz & Parks, 1994), though it must be recognized that accurate
conceptualization of internal cognitive processes is inherently problematic
and invariably unreliable, especially across subject domains.
• However, without some valid practical frame on what these elusive but
desirable skills are, and how they work in terms of the wider context of
internal mental activity, there is little chance of the effective teaching and
assessment of them.
A Model of Thinking (Sale 2015)
Comparison
& Contrast
Inference &
Interpretation
Meta-cognition
Analysis
Evaluation
Generating Possibilities
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Example
Managing Pollution (some selected outcomes infusing types
of thinking into subject content knowledge)
• Compare and contrast pollution in a range of contexts
• Analyse the basis of pollutants
• Make inferences and interpretations concerning the
causes of pollution in different situations
• Generate possibilities in terms of managing/reducing
pollutants
• Evaluate pollution policies.
5: Creating Authentic Learning Experiences & Learning
Spaces
Cyber Wargame Centre
Visual Effects Studio
Aerospace Lab
6: Meaningful & Useful Evaluation
• The evaluation was conducted over a 3-year period (2006-9),
encompassing the student cohorts over the full term of their study at SP. A
major aspect of the evaluation focused on the student learning experience
• For this reason, while the evaluation used a range of methods to obtain a
wide profile of data, much emphasis was placed on a longitudinal
ethnographic profile of the student’s experience. To achieve this,
volunteer students were recruited as “co-participants” (Lincoln, 1990,
p.78) to assist the researchers. They were specifically required to:
– Talk to classmates and capture their experiences of the new teaching methods
– Record their perceptions and ‘findings’ on a designated blog
– Meet with the researchers at least once a semester for group sharing.
7: High Leverage early Visible Benefits
• A strategic aspect that proved particularly important in effective
implementation was the early involvement of faculty in a
manageable part of the change activity.
For example, in reviewing courses and modules, they were able to
experience tangible results in terms of clearer and more meaningful
documents from which to plan student learning. As the old saying
goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” or as Bate, Bevan &
Robert (2005) illustrated in more technical terms:
…people cannot want it until they have tried it. The concrete
experience of participating in a movement is crucial, meanings
and value being formed after the experience not before it.
(p.31)
8: On Human Conduct
• A central consideration throughout focused on maintaining
good relationships with all stakeholders, especially in being
transparent in all aspects of the communication processes
and ensuring that action taken is realistic and practical both in
terms of school reference norms and for SP generally. As
Hargreaves and Fullan (1998) summarized:
“Structures are only as good as the relationships and
know-how of the people who occupy them. Emotional
management is ultimately about attending to these
relationships properly. Managing emotionally and
rationally in today’s turbulent times is rocket science”.
(p.129)
Summary Frame
Technical expertise is necessary, so is an understanding of how
human behavior typically plays out at organizational level.
Hence, there is a need for ongoing careful management of
existing and desired social realities in the institutional context.
Stakeholders must see purpose and relevance and feel
competent to meet clear and agreed goals, and this needs to be
consistently transparent and collaborative within realistic timeframes.
Trying to do ‘everything yesterday’, typically means ‘doing
more tomorrow’.