Learning Assessment – a Palette of Methods in a Master’s Program

There are several different examination methods to assess students’ achievements. These assessment methods should be matched with the course learning objectives, support deep understanding of concepts and active learning as well as different learning styles among the students (CDIO, 2015). The objective of this paper is to share and reflect on the experiences of different assessment methods applied in a master’s program in Ergonomics and HTO (Humans, Technology and Organization) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. The paper is based on the authors experience as main teachers in the master’s program since 2007 and student evaluations. Ergonomics is multidisciplinary and spanning over several sub-disciplines. The program therefore consists of five six-credit courses representing different areas within Ergonomics: 1) Humans, Technology, Organization; 2) Physical Ergonomics; 3) Cognitive Ergonomics; 4) Organization, Change Management and Work Environment Legislation; and 5) Research Methods and Study Design. These are followed by a 15-credit project course and the Degree Project. The students in the program have a mix of different educational backgrounds: engineering, behavioral sciences and healthcare science. About half of the students have continued studying directly after their Bachelor studies while the other half have long work experience from different fields. The students’ multidisciplinary backgrounds and difference in work experience call for special attention regarding what means to use to support the students’ deep understanding and active learning. This difference constitutes a dynamic learning environment with high potential for collaboration and knowledge sharing across academic disciplines. The need to apply several perspectives for problem solving is also acknowledged as the program proceeds over the wide span of Ergonomics, covering human physical and cognitive aspects, human-machine interaction and organizational issues as well as the systems view of HTO. To support the students’ cross-disciplinary collaboration and individual learning processes a variety of assessment methods have been developed. In all first six-credit courses, there is a written exam to assess theoretical knowledge. This exam is written in class with or without access to course literature, or at home during a limited time. Especially for home examination the students have expressed that the written exam constitutes an important learning process. The written exam is in all cases complemented by an array of other assessment methods to stimulate the development of a multidisciplinary view. These include seminars, laboratory work, as well as individual and group assignments. In the group assignments, the groups are mixed with students from the three main educational backgrounds to demonstrate the need to encompass several perspectives to understand phenomena. For all courses, including the project course and the degree project, the learning outcome is also assessed by oral presentation. In some cases, this also includes opposition of another group’s work. The project course and the degree project, finally, are also assessed by a project report. In the paper, the design, perceived benefits and challenges of the assessment methods are problematized. The reported methods are related to implementation of the CDIO standard 11 – Learning Assessment.

Proceedings of the 12th International CDIO Conference, Turku, Finland, June 12-16 2016