Faculty of engineering And applied science

Course Enhancement Grant Program - Application

Applicant Name: Rick Sellens,
Department: Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Requested Support Level
This proposal is for a large redevelopment project (up to $50,000) to support the development of a new blended learning course – MECH 217: Measurement in Mechatronics.
Supporting Documentation
Include a support letter from the department head
Include a statement acknowledging that a report of the outcomes of the project will be submitted at the conclusion of the project, including a report on spending, description of the revised learning activities, and impact of the initiative.

1) Description of the project goal and evidence that the project will likely lead to improved student learning. The redevelopment initiative must not result in a heavier workload for students, so new learning activities must be offset by other activities removed from the course/program.

This proposal is requesting funds to support the creation a new second-year core course: MECH 217 — Measurement in Mechatronics. This course will introduce learners to microcontroller-based measurements focusing on traditional mechanical quantities of temperature, pressure, strain, force, and motion. MECH 217 will combine and replace two existing core courses: MECH 215 – Instrumentation and Measurement and MECH 216 – Instrumentation and Measurement Labs. The changes have already been approved by Faculty Curriculum Committee. It is expected that student enrolment will be around 185 students per year.

The design of MECH 217 will apply the same approaches proven in MECH 216 to cover the theory and computational elements of MECH 215 to create an integrated experience and facilitates a community of inquiry thatfocusses on investigating, questioning and understanding today’s innovative approaches to mechatronics in consumer products. The MECH 217 course design will follow a “flipped” format with students learning the concepts on their own time online (3 hours/week) and coming to class to practice and apply them in both hardware and software (one 3-hour session/week). Through onQ,students would view video micro lectures to cover the concepts and some examples, then in active learning sessions students will assemble measurement circuits, make measurements, thenengage in related problem solving, computer simulations, and practical applications with instructor and TA guidance.

The MECH 215 material will be transitioned from a traditional face-to-face delivery method to a blended course. In the current format of MECH 215, students have struggled with the concepts presented in class without concrete context and are left to practice independently outside of classtime, without the opportunity to apply the concepts in a hands-on lab. Lecture attendance was poor, student engagement limited, and students were poorly prepared for MECH 216.

MECH 216 is already a blended course, with online resources and five three-hour lab sessions spread over the term. This course already goes beyond simply putting lectures online as it follows a design problem-based approach to explore solutions to real world measurement problems that are constructively aligned to with the course learning outcomes, program outcomes, and graduate attributes of the Canadian Engineering AccreditationBoard. In the current format of MECH 216, students work in groups, hands-on, implementing approaches covered in MECH 215. Attendance is near 100%, engagement and student satisfaction are high. MECH 217 will maintain this active learning approach used in MECH 216 to build student community, promote teamwork and peer instruction, and foster high student engagement.

2) Description of how the initiative aligns with departmental teaching priorities, including NSSE engagement indicators.

The development of MECH 217 as a replacement for MECH 215 and MECH 216 will greatly improve the student learning experience and will help to better manage departmental resources. Material previously presented by two separate faculty members as core teaching load will be delivered in a more engaging format with one faculty member supported by a teaching fellow.

In addition to supporting the teaching priorities at the departmental level, the redesign of MECH217 will also target indicators in all four of the NSSE Engagement Themes (Academic Challenge, Learning with Peers, Experiences with Faculty, and Campus Environment).[1]

Indicator / Redesign of MECH 217
NSSE Engagement Theme: Academic Challenge
Higher-Order Learning
Applying facts, theories, or methods to practical problems or new situations. / Combining practical implementation experiences, complete with expected failure modes, will develop troubleshooting and analysis skills in parallel with theoretical understanding. Learners will be forced to recognize that isolated examples of theory are rare in the real world and recognize multiple simultaneous effects typical of real world engineering problems.
Quantitative Reasoning
Using numerical information to examine a real-world problem or issue. / Students will work with real and simulated data, analyzing their results and creating and testing models to explain them. The analysis will combine both experimental noise and transient behaviour typical of real application in engineering practice.
NSSE Engagement Theme: Learning with Peers
Collaborative Learning
Working with other students to understand and explain course material, or to work together on projects and assignments. / Groups will work together in both measurement and analysis in a blended environment that requires both individual preparation and team based solutions. Troubleshooting is particularly enhanced by multiple viewpoints.
NSSE Engagement Theme: Experiences with Faculty
Effective Teaching Practices
Courses are organized, examples are used to explain difficult points, and feedback is given for work in progress. / The delivery format pioneered in MECH 216 combines just in time delivery of content with carefully calibrated open-endedness to require student decision making in all activities. Maintaining faculty contact throughout the active learning experience allows students to experience failure while receiving adequate skilled feedback to keep them on the path.
Inclusion of current MEMs transducers and interface systems you would find e.g. in an iPhone 6 engages students more fully than older technologies.
NSSE Engagement Theme: Campus Environment
Quality of Interactions
Positive and supportive interpersonal relationships where assistance is easy to find and students can learn from and with others around them. / The instructional design has the same instructor and TAs following students through the entire sequence in relatively small groups (~40) and this builds positive interactions in ways that are impossible in a large lecture format.

3) Describe the project timeline and how the funds will be used, and any in-kind support provided by the department, if applicable.

This project will follow modified version of the development process used by the FEAS Teaching and Learning Teamto create a high-quality blended course that can be delivered beginning in 2018. The team will include:

  • Faculty Member Course Author: Rick Sellens(Ph.D., P.Eng.) many years of experience teaching in face-to-face and blended formats and has been an active developer of evidence-based learning modules[2]and online instructional content.
  • Educational Developer: Eric Tremblay (M.Sc., M.Ed.) is a Certified Instructional Designer with 15 years of experience in the design, development and delivery of online post-secondary education. He is a Certified Peer Reviewer with QualityMatters.org and can participate in formal Quality Matters Online Course Review panels.
  • Instructional Designer: LeighaCovell (PBDID Candidate, M.Ed, B.Ed.), has four years of experience in the design and development of online and blended post-secondary courses. She has completed the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric online course.
  • Multimedia Support Analyst: Simon Bailey, (BA, M.Ed Candidate), has more than a decade of experience in media development, editing and learning object design. Simon is an expert in videography and has completed the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric online course.

Proposed Project Timeline:

Phase 1 / Pedagogical Sequencing to combine MECH 215 and 216 into new format for MECH 217 / July 31, 2017
Phase 2 / Learning Object Design with Student Input (during initial course offering) (e.g. instructional videos, lab demos, etc.) / November 30, 2017
Phase 3 / Post-delivery Learning Object Re-design from Instructor and Student Feedback / April 30, 2017
Delivery of the Course / Fall 2017
(initial offering)
Fall 2018
(second offering post-development)

Proposed Budget (including in-kind contributions):

Budget Items / Cost
Personnel Expenses
n/a / $0
$0 Total Personnel Expenses
In-Kind expenses
Course Author / $8,000
Educational Developer / $1,000
Instructional Designer / $1,000
Multimedia Support Analyst / $10,000
$20,000 Total In-Kind Expenses
Direct Expenses
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Compliance (video transcription and captioning) / $2,500
Hardware, software and videography equipment / $500
$3,000 Total Direct Expenses

Total Project Costs = $23,000 (including $20,000 of total budget from In-Kind Contributions). Note that this funding request is only for $3,000.

4) Describe how the impact of the initiative will be assessed.

Throughout the project, the design of this course will be guided by the quality assurance principles of the Quality Matters program In phase 1, the Course Author will carefully curate the existing MECH 215 and MECH 216 learning objects to identify the important concepts and learning objects that should be included in the design of MECH 217. In phase 2, the Course Author will use some existing learning objects from the previous courses, but will develop new learning objects as needed based on student performance and engagement. In addition, learners will be invited to complete an early-feedback survey to provide feedback on their initial impressions of the course and will be invited to participate in a face-to-face focus group session led by a member of the FEAS Teaching and Learning Team. This feedback is reviewed and any feasible modifications will be completed immediately.In Phase 3, the course development team members will review the overall student and instructor course satisfaction and will make additional learning objects as needed.

The Course Development Team acknowledges that a 2-5 page report of the outcomes of the

project will be submitted at the conclusion of the project.

1

[1] See

[2]Sellens, R. (2014). Video Microlectures: Simple to Make; Valued by Students. Proceedings of the 10th International CDIO conference. Spain. Retrieved from