Paul Hermon | Queen's University Belfast (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul Hermon
Many engineers currently in professional practice will have gained a degree level qualification w... more Many engineers currently in professional practice will have gained a degree level qualification which involved studying a curriculum heavy with mathematics and engineering science. While this knowledge is vital to the engineering design process so also is manufacturing knowledge, if the resulting designs are to be both technically and commercially viable. The methodology advanced by the CDIO Initiative aims to improve engineering education by teaching in the context of Conceiving, Designing, Implementing and Operating products, processes or systems. A key element of this approach is the use of Design-Built-Test (DBT) projects as the core of an integrated curriculum. This approach facilitates the development of professional skills as well as the application of technical knowledge and skills developed in other parts of the degree programme. This approach also changes the role of lecturer to that of facilitator / coach in an active learning environment in which students gain concrete experiences that support their development. The case study herein describes Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student involvement in the manufacture and assembly of concept and functional prototypes of a folding bicycle.
This paper describes a methodology of using individual engineering undergraduate student projects... more This paper describes a methodology of using individual engineering undergraduate student projects as a means of effectively and efficiently developing new Design-Build-Test (DBT) learning experiences and challenges. A key aspect of the rationale for this approach is that it benefits all parties. The student undertaking the individual project gets an authentic experience of producing a functional artefact, which has been the result of a design process that addresses conception, design, implementation and operation. The supervising faculty member benefits from live prototyping of new curriculum content and resources with a student who is at a similar level of knowledge and experience as the intended end users of the DBT outputs. The multiple students who ultimately undertake the DBT experiences / challenges benefit from the enhanced nature of a learning experience which has been "road tested" and optimised. To demonstrate the methodology the paper will describe a case study example of an individual project completed in 2015. This resulted in a DBT design challenge with a theme of designing a catapult for throwing table tennis balls, the device being made from components laser cut from medium density fibreboard (MDF). Further three different modes of operation will be described which use the same resource materials but operate over different timescales and with different learning outcomes, from an icebreaker exercise focused on developing team dynamics through to full DBT where students get an opportunity to experience the full impact of their design decisions by competing against other students with a catapult they have designed and built themselves.
DS 76: Proceedings of E&PDE 2013, the 15th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Dublin, Ireland, 05-06.09.2013, Sep 6, 2013
The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast started BEng and... more The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast started BEng and MEng degree programmes in Product Design and Development (PDD) in 2004. Intended from the outset to be significantly different from the existing programmes within the School the PDD degrees used the syllabus and standards defined by the CDIO Initiative as the basis for an integrated curriculum. Students are taught in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating a product. Fundamental to this approach is a core sequence of Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences which facilitates the development of a range of professional skills as well as the immediate application of technical knowledge gained in strategically aligned supporting modules. The key objective of the degree programmes is to better prepare students for professional practice. PDD graduates were surveyed using a questionnaire developed by the CDIO founders and interviewed to examine the efficacy of these degree programmes, particularly in this key objective. Graduate employment rates, self assessment of graduate attributes and examples of work produced by MEng graduates provided positive evidence that their capabilities met the requirements of the profession. The 24% questionnaire response rate from the 96 graduates to date did not however facilitate statistically significant conclusions to be drawn and particularly not for BEng graduates who were under represented in the response group. While not providing proof of efficacy the investigation did provide a good amount of useful data for consideration as part of a continuous improvement process.
Timely and individualized feedback on coursework is desirable from a student perspective as it fa... more Timely and individualized feedback on coursework is desirable from a student perspective as it facilitates formative development and encourages reflective learning practice. Faculty however are faced with a significant and potentially time consuming challenge when teaching larger cohorts if they are to provide feedback which is timely, individualized and detailed. Additionally, for subjects which assess non-traditional submissions, such as Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), the methods for assessment and feedback tend not to be so well developed or optimized. Issues can also arise over the consistency of the feedback provided. Evaluations of Computer-Assisted feedback in other disciplines (Denton et al, 2008), (Croft et al, 2001) have shown students prefer this method of feedback to traditional "red pen" marking and also that such methods can be more time efficient for faculty. Herein, approaches are described which make use of technology and additional software tools to speed up, simplify and automate assessment and the provision of feedback for large cohorts of first and second year engineering students studying modules where CAD files are submitted electronically. A range of automated methods are described and compared with more "manual" approaches. Specifically one method uses an application programming interface (API) to interrogate SolidWorks models and extract information into an Excel spreadsheet, which is then used to automatically send feedback emails. Another method describes the use of audio recordings made during model interrogation which reduces the amount of time while increasing the level of detail provided as feedback. Limitations found with these methods and problems encountered are discussed along with a quantified assessment of time saving efficiencies made.
The basis of a checklist for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) type Design-Build-Test (DBT) experience... more The basis of a checklist for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) type Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences already exists in the form of the CDIO syllabus. Guidelines for effective implementation via a systematic approach to designing and operating such experiences have been defined within the CDIO community. However, a narrative review of conference papers in the CDIO knowledge base suggests low instances of disseminated DBT projects published that refer to a comprehensive range of CDIO syllabus outcomes, or make reference to an implementation methodology Previous meta-analysis attempts to determine the efficacy of PBL in engineering education, outside of the CDIO community, have been hindered by variability in structure and implementation across different institutions. Consequently, the uncertainty of positive outcomes and the necessary paradigm shift in the approach to teaching required when switching to PBL have acted as inhibitors to the further development of best practice. Based on the premise that checklists are a simple yet effective means of ensuring that best practice is followed, this paper sets out to promote the use of a self-evaluation checklist for effective PBL implementation, and for periodic review as part of a process of continual improvement. Widespread adoption of such a checklist would consequently bring greater standardization to the descriptions of DBT projects among CDIO collaborators (and others), so that further research into effective implementation might be enhanced. It is therefore proposed that the version 1.0 checklist presented here acts as a foundation that might further be utilized by communities of interested engineering education practitioners involved in DBT activities.
Eight universities have collaborated in an Erasmus+ funded project to create a lean process to en... more Eight universities have collaborated in an Erasmus+ funded project to create a lean process to enhance self-evaluation and accreditation through peer alliance and cooperation. Central to this process is the partnering of two institutions as critical friends, based on prior selfevaluations of specific programmes to identify particular criteria for improvement. A pairing algorithm matches two institutions based on their respective self-evaluation scores. It ensures there are significant differences in key criteria that are mutually beneficial for future programme development and enhancement. The ensuing meetings between critical friends have been designated as ‘cross-sparring’. This paper focuses on a case-study of the crosssparring and resulting enhancement outcomes between Umeå University and Queen’s University Belfast, and their respective Masters programmes in Software Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The collaborative experiences of the process are evaluated, reported, dis...
The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast introduced a new... more The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast introduced a new degree programme in Product Design and Development (PDD) in 2004. As well as setting out to meet all UK-SPEC requirements, the entirely new curriculum was developed in line with the syllabus and standards defined by the CDIO Initiative, an international collaboration of universities aiming to improve the education of engineering students. The CDIO ethos is that students are taught in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating a product or system. Fundamental to this is an integrated curriculum with multiple Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences at the core. Unlike most traditional engineering courses the PDD degree features group DBT projects in all years of the programme. The projects increase in complexity and challenge in a staged manner, with learning outcomes guided by Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains. The integrated course structure enables the immediate application of disciplinary knowledge, gained from other modules, as well as development of professional skills and attributes in the context of the DBT activity. This has a positive impact on student engagement and the embedding of these relevant skills, identified from a stakeholder survey, has also been shown to better prepare students for professional practice. This paper will detail the methodology used in the development of the curriculum, refinements that have been made during the first five years of operation and discuss the resource and staffing issues raised in facilitating such a learning environment.
... Corresponding Author J Paul Hermon MEng, FHEA, FRSA School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engine... more ... Corresponding Author J Paul Hermon MEng, FHEA, FRSA School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Queen's University Belfast Ashby Building Stranmillis Road Belfast BT9 5AH N.Ireland Telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 4499 Email: p.hermon@qub.ac.uk
An engineering mathematics module has been developed and implemented to promote deeper learning u... more An engineering mathematics module has been developed and implemented to promote deeper learning using the CDIO methodology. It conforms to several CDIO Standards and also seeks to develop personal, interpersonal and professional skills through an active and interactive learning paradigm. This paper discusses the content, pedagogy and efficacy of the module in relation to student motivation, engagement and attainment over a three year period. It is shown that such an approach is successful in this regard.
Teaching mathematics to engineers is a worldwide issue which is evident by the extent of relevant... more Teaching mathematics to engineers is a worldwide issue which is evident by the extent of relevant published work on the subject. There are many reasons for this, but of clear concern is how to actually approach the problem when developing new engineering mathematics modules for first year engineering students. This paper presents a method to sustain effective learning and teaching in engineering mathematics by describing a systematic approach for developing a new engineering mathematics module, which promotes deeper learning using the CDIO methodology. The approach is based on the best current pedagogical practices and previous experience gained by the authors in this area. This pedagogy is discussed and cited in detail as it conforms to several CDIO Standards and also seeks to develop personal, interpersonal and professional skills through an active and interactive learning paradigm. The efficacy of the endeavour is also presented, including data relating to the attendance, engagement, enjoyment and attainment of several different cohorts of students over a period of four years.
Many engineers currently in professional practice will have gained a degree level qualification w... more Many engineers currently in professional practice will have gained a degree level qualification which involved studying a curriculum heavy with mathematics and engineering science. While this knowledge is vital to the engineering design process so also is manufacturing knowledge, if the resulting designs are to be both technically and commercially viable. The methodology advanced by the CDIO Initiative aims to improve engineering education by teaching in the context of Conceiving, Designing, Implementing and Operating products, processes or systems. A key element of this approach is the use of Design-Built-Test (DBT) projects as the core of an integrated curriculum. This approach facilitates the development of professional skills as well as the application of technical knowledge and skills developed in other parts of the degree programme. This approach also changes the role of lecturer to that of facilitator / coach in an active learning environment in which students gain concrete experiences that support their development. The case study herein describes Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student involvement in the manufacture and assembly of concept and functional prototypes of a folding bicycle.
This paper describes a methodology of using individual engineering undergraduate student projects... more This paper describes a methodology of using individual engineering undergraduate student projects as a means of effectively and efficiently developing new Design-Build-Test (DBT) learning experiences and challenges. A key aspect of the rationale for this approach is that it benefits all parties. The student undertaking the individual project gets an authentic experience of producing a functional artefact, which has been the result of a design process that addresses conception, design, implementation and operation. The supervising faculty member benefits from live prototyping of new curriculum content and resources with a student who is at a similar level of knowledge and experience as the intended end users of the DBT outputs. The multiple students who ultimately undertake the DBT experiences / challenges benefit from the enhanced nature of a learning experience which has been "road tested" and optimised. To demonstrate the methodology the paper will describe a case study example of an individual project completed in 2015. This resulted in a DBT design challenge with a theme of designing a catapult for throwing table tennis balls, the device being made from components laser cut from medium density fibreboard (MDF). Further three different modes of operation will be described which use the same resource materials but operate over different timescales and with different learning outcomes, from an icebreaker exercise focused on developing team dynamics through to full DBT where students get an opportunity to experience the full impact of their design decisions by competing against other students with a catapult they have designed and built themselves.
DS 76: Proceedings of E&PDE 2013, the 15th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Dublin, Ireland, 05-06.09.2013, Sep 6, 2013
The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast started BEng and... more The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast started BEng and MEng degree programmes in Product Design and Development (PDD) in 2004. Intended from the outset to be significantly different from the existing programmes within the School the PDD degrees used the syllabus and standards defined by the CDIO Initiative as the basis for an integrated curriculum. Students are taught in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating a product. Fundamental to this approach is a core sequence of Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences which facilitates the development of a range of professional skills as well as the immediate application of technical knowledge gained in strategically aligned supporting modules. The key objective of the degree programmes is to better prepare students for professional practice. PDD graduates were surveyed using a questionnaire developed by the CDIO founders and interviewed to examine the efficacy of these degree programmes, particularly in this key objective. Graduate employment rates, self assessment of graduate attributes and examples of work produced by MEng graduates provided positive evidence that their capabilities met the requirements of the profession. The 24% questionnaire response rate from the 96 graduates to date did not however facilitate statistically significant conclusions to be drawn and particularly not for BEng graduates who were under represented in the response group. While not providing proof of efficacy the investigation did provide a good amount of useful data for consideration as part of a continuous improvement process.
Timely and individualized feedback on coursework is desirable from a student perspective as it fa... more Timely and individualized feedback on coursework is desirable from a student perspective as it facilitates formative development and encourages reflective learning practice. Faculty however are faced with a significant and potentially time consuming challenge when teaching larger cohorts if they are to provide feedback which is timely, individualized and detailed. Additionally, for subjects which assess non-traditional submissions, such as Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), the methods for assessment and feedback tend not to be so well developed or optimized. Issues can also arise over the consistency of the feedback provided. Evaluations of Computer-Assisted feedback in other disciplines (Denton et al, 2008), (Croft et al, 2001) have shown students prefer this method of feedback to traditional "red pen" marking and also that such methods can be more time efficient for faculty. Herein, approaches are described which make use of technology and additional software tools to speed up, simplify and automate assessment and the provision of feedback for large cohorts of first and second year engineering students studying modules where CAD files are submitted electronically. A range of automated methods are described and compared with more "manual" approaches. Specifically one method uses an application programming interface (API) to interrogate SolidWorks models and extract information into an Excel spreadsheet, which is then used to automatically send feedback emails. Another method describes the use of audio recordings made during model interrogation which reduces the amount of time while increasing the level of detail provided as feedback. Limitations found with these methods and problems encountered are discussed along with a quantified assessment of time saving efficiencies made.
The basis of a checklist for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) type Design-Build-Test (DBT) experience... more The basis of a checklist for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) type Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences already exists in the form of the CDIO syllabus. Guidelines for effective implementation via a systematic approach to designing and operating such experiences have been defined within the CDIO community. However, a narrative review of conference papers in the CDIO knowledge base suggests low instances of disseminated DBT projects published that refer to a comprehensive range of CDIO syllabus outcomes, or make reference to an implementation methodology Previous meta-analysis attempts to determine the efficacy of PBL in engineering education, outside of the CDIO community, have been hindered by variability in structure and implementation across different institutions. Consequently, the uncertainty of positive outcomes and the necessary paradigm shift in the approach to teaching required when switching to PBL have acted as inhibitors to the further development of best practice. Based on the premise that checklists are a simple yet effective means of ensuring that best practice is followed, this paper sets out to promote the use of a self-evaluation checklist for effective PBL implementation, and for periodic review as part of a process of continual improvement. Widespread adoption of such a checklist would consequently bring greater standardization to the descriptions of DBT projects among CDIO collaborators (and others), so that further research into effective implementation might be enhanced. It is therefore proposed that the version 1.0 checklist presented here acts as a foundation that might further be utilized by communities of interested engineering education practitioners involved in DBT activities.
Eight universities have collaborated in an Erasmus+ funded project to create a lean process to en... more Eight universities have collaborated in an Erasmus+ funded project to create a lean process to enhance self-evaluation and accreditation through peer alliance and cooperation. Central to this process is the partnering of two institutions as critical friends, based on prior selfevaluations of specific programmes to identify particular criteria for improvement. A pairing algorithm matches two institutions based on their respective self-evaluation scores. It ensures there are significant differences in key criteria that are mutually beneficial for future programme development and enhancement. The ensuing meetings between critical friends have been designated as ‘cross-sparring’. This paper focuses on a case-study of the crosssparring and resulting enhancement outcomes between Umeå University and Queen’s University Belfast, and their respective Masters programmes in Software Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. The collaborative experiences of the process are evaluated, reported, dis...
The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast introduced a new... more The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast introduced a new degree programme in Product Design and Development (PDD) in 2004. As well as setting out to meet all UK-SPEC requirements, the entirely new curriculum was developed in line with the syllabus and standards defined by the CDIO Initiative, an international collaboration of universities aiming to improve the education of engineering students. The CDIO ethos is that students are taught in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating a product or system. Fundamental to this is an integrated curriculum with multiple Design-Build-Test (DBT) experiences at the core. Unlike most traditional engineering courses the PDD degree features group DBT projects in all years of the programme. The projects increase in complexity and challenge in a staged manner, with learning outcomes guided by Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains. The integrated course structure enables the immediate application of disciplinary knowledge, gained from other modules, as well as development of professional skills and attributes in the context of the DBT activity. This has a positive impact on student engagement and the embedding of these relevant skills, identified from a stakeholder survey, has also been shown to better prepare students for professional practice. This paper will detail the methodology used in the development of the curriculum, refinements that have been made during the first five years of operation and discuss the resource and staffing issues raised in facilitating such a learning environment.
... Corresponding Author J Paul Hermon MEng, FHEA, FRSA School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engine... more ... Corresponding Author J Paul Hermon MEng, FHEA, FRSA School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Queen's University Belfast Ashby Building Stranmillis Road Belfast BT9 5AH N.Ireland Telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 4499 Email: p.hermon@qub.ac.uk
An engineering mathematics module has been developed and implemented to promote deeper learning u... more An engineering mathematics module has been developed and implemented to promote deeper learning using the CDIO methodology. It conforms to several CDIO Standards and also seeks to develop personal, interpersonal and professional skills through an active and interactive learning paradigm. This paper discusses the content, pedagogy and efficacy of the module in relation to student motivation, engagement and attainment over a three year period. It is shown that such an approach is successful in this regard.
Teaching mathematics to engineers is a worldwide issue which is evident by the extent of relevant... more Teaching mathematics to engineers is a worldwide issue which is evident by the extent of relevant published work on the subject. There are many reasons for this, but of clear concern is how to actually approach the problem when developing new engineering mathematics modules for first year engineering students. This paper presents a method to sustain effective learning and teaching in engineering mathematics by describing a systematic approach for developing a new engineering mathematics module, which promotes deeper learning using the CDIO methodology. The approach is based on the best current pedagogical practices and previous experience gained by the authors in this area. This pedagogy is discussed and cited in detail as it conforms to several CDIO Standards and also seeks to develop personal, interpersonal and professional skills through an active and interactive learning paradigm. The efficacy of the endeavour is also presented, including data relating to the attendance, engagement, enjoyment and attainment of several different cohorts of students over a period of four years.