ASEE PEER - Oral Examinations in Environmental Engineering Design Courses
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Oral Examinations in Environmental Engineering Design Courses

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

July 12, 2024

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division (ENVIRON) Technical Session 3 - Innovative Pedagogy

Tagged Division

Environmental Engineering Division (ENVIRON)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/47823

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Paper Authors

biography

James N. Jensen University at Buffalo Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-8087-6904

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James N. Jensen is professor and chair of the Department of Engineering Education at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Jensen received a BS degree in environmental engineering from Caltech in 1980 and MSPH and PhD degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983 and 1988, respectively. His research and teaching interests are in assessment, problem-based learning, and drinking water treatment in low-resource environments. He has received numerous teaching and research awards, including the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the President Emeritus and Mrs. Martin Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring.

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Abstract

The role of oral examinations to assess student learning was explored in a senior-level design course in environmental engineering over a fifteen-year period (N = 397 students). In the oral exams, students played the role of a consulting engineer interacting with stakeholders. The mixed-method study involved quantitative and qualitative methods. Students overwhelming reported that the oral examinations will help them in (1) achieving their professional goals, and (2) meeting higher-level learning outcomes. The perceived fairness of the administration and grading of written and oral examinations was about equal. Oral examination scores were poorly correlated with the order in which the examination was taken, suggesting that cheating was not important. Practical aspects of administering oral examinations will be discussed. Based on the data collected in this study, oral examinations are an efficient way to assess higher learning levels in environmental engineering design courses.

Jensen, J. N. (2024, June), Oral Examinations in Environmental Engineering Design Courses Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47823

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