Evaluation of students’ performance in CDIO projects through blended learning

Current engineering job sectors do not only demand theoretical technical knowledge but also hands-on skills and critical thinking to ensure that engineering graduates are adaptive to the evolving and innovative world. Hence, several engineering modules at Canterbury Christ Church University have incorporated CDIO projects to integrate professional skills into the course. Following the UK government COVID-19 lockdown guidelines in 2020, traditional on-campus face-to-face learning was restricted at UK universities and colleges; therefore, students faced several challenges from academic and wellbeing perspectives. To overcome the challenges and enhance those professional skills through CDIO projects whilst following COVID-19 restrictions, blended learning was implemented via reconfiguring the delivery and implementation of the CDIO projects through an optimal arrangement of online and on-campus sessions. Online CDIO practical sessions were dedicated to students for transforming their ideas into feasible designs and solutions whereas students developed the hardware prototype during the face-to-face sessions. The learning framework was inclusive with additional support for disabled students with accessible learning materials and supportive technical and professional training. The above strategy also helped students to complete their online assessment to achieve the required professional attributes and manage online/blended group-based tasks appropriately. Their outcome of the CDIO project was impressive and the quality of those projects is comparable to final-year projects. The performance of the students was also encouraging as the first-time overall pass rate is relatively high (86%) for a cohort of 75 students where average marks are around 59.6 and standard deviation is around 18.5. The high success rate was achieved in all areas of the cohort, for example the pass rate in BAME students was 93.75%, in female students it was 98.43%, and in disabled students it was 98.43%. A survey on students’ experience shows that they benefited highly from the sessions related to the CDIO project.

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