Constructive alignment between holistic competency development and assessment in Hong Kong engineering education

Abstract

Background: Holistic competencies comprise various holistic skills (e.g., communication) and positive values and attitudes (e.g., empathy). There have been increasing efforts worldwide to foster students' holistic competency development within engineering curricula. While recent studies indicate a positive shift, it remains unclear whether such efforts are driven by only a handful of individuals or more widely supported by systemic changes to constructively align competency development with the engineering curriculum. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study investigates the extent to which endeavors to promote holistic competency development in Hong Kong's tertiary engineering education are supported by a broader, constructively aligned curricular system. The three key components of constructive alignment developed by Biggs in 2003-intended outcomes, teaching activities, and assessment-form the conceptual framework guiding this study. Design/Method: This study conducted document analysis of 245 engineering courses and interviews with five engineering instructors from three Hong Kong universities. Results: Only 34 of 245 syllabi analyzed incorporated holistic competencies in their intended outcomes. These outcomes were associated with both traditional and experiential pedagogies but were not matched with direct or explicit assessments. Data show that program leaders' conceptions of holistic competencies, instructor's limited capabilities, and issues assessing competencies pose challenges to constructive alignment.Conclusions: Challenges for achieving constructive alignment and recommendations for addressing them are discussed. Our findings highlight the need to train all levels of engineering instructors in student holistic competency development, to acquaint instructors with industrial experiences and expectations, to develop top-down and bottom-up reforms to refine engineering curricula, and to provide increased recognition for teaching quality and efforts.

Research on the Evaluation of Higher Vocational Students’ Occupational Literacy in the Context of Big Data

“…Landry, et al explored the teaching quality assessment model for pre-school education and concluded that the assessment model has a positive impact on the improvement of teaching quality level and the reform of teaching mode [15]. Chan, C. K. Y. et al carried out a project study on engineering teaching in Hong Kong, and analyzed and summarized the study to emphasize the necessity of practical education and professional knowledge training for engineering educators and combined with teaching quality assessment to improve the teaching standard and professionalism of engineering teachers [16].…”

A Classification Approach for University English Teaching Resources Based on Multi-Feature Fusion

“…Various network platforms have been widely used in college English teaching, initially constructing online and offline blended classrooms, aiming at cultivating students' English proficiency, breaking down the barriers of disciplinary specialties, and breaking through the limitations of classroom teaching to extend the classroom learning space beyond the classroom [4][5]. In our university English teaching, teachers put the overall development of students in an important position, not only cultivating students' ability to tell China's story in English but also helping them to master the values, moral norms, and codes of conduct of the era and society in which they live, so as to achieve the mutual identification of the individual with the era and the individual with the society [6].…”

Constructive alignment in a graduate-level project management course: an innovative framework using large language models

“…Lasrado and Kaul (2021) used constructive alignment in a business and quality management course to introduce innovative ways of designing authentic tasks and aligning them with subject learning outcomes. Chan and Lee (2021) utilized constructive alignment to assess holistic attributes in Hong Kong's engineering education, revealing a reliance on indirect assessment methods. Their study emphasized the difficulty of transitioning to direct assessments without well-designed, standardized marking rubrics.…”

“…Their study emphasized the difficulty of transitioning to direct assessments without well-designed, standardized marking rubrics. Caution is warranted when applying Chan and Lee's (2021) findings to institutions with different characteristics; instructors must consider the unique features of each educational context. From prior research, it can be inferred that implementing a more robust constructive alignment approach is associated with enhanced student learning experiences, demonstrating adaptability across various course contexts.…”