COURSE DESIGN ORIENTED TOWARDS DEGREE OBJECTIVES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The goal of engineering education is to facilitate the learning of technical knowledge and understanding, skills, and attitudes required by students to become successful engineers. In the Swedish higher education system, the qualifications for a master degree in engineering are listed in the Higher Education Ordinance [1]. Such qualifications, also called Degree Objectives, have to be fulfilled on a programme level, that is, throughout all courses that form the programme. This requires a high level of communication and collaboration between all course responsibles and the programme coordinator. At the same time, it also restricts the freedom in the design of each individual course, as they all have fit into a 2-year-long educational puzzle. Designing courses from their conception with a view on fulfilling all the degree objectives would be more effective in terms of programme coordination. However, it poses new challenges, since it requires that all degree objectives related to skills and attitudes be fulfilled in each and every course through its learning activities. Is there a way of designing the course activities in such a way that most degree objectives are covered, while respecting the diversity in learning styles and maturity level of the students, and promoting self-regulation? We explore the possibilities of this course design concept when framed within the CDIO Initiative [2]. We analyse the relative importance of the different Degree Objectives in Swedish Higher Education, and how these can be introduced in the Intended Learning Outcomes of each individual course while keeping in mind the personal evolution of the students at different stages of their education.