Making technical issues interesting for bachelor's degree students in a CBL course

CPD activities at the local university

The CPD activities should focus on enabling faculty members to adapt to the CBL approach effectively, ensuring that they are equipped to guide students through the process of defining and solving domain-specific challenges without traditional lecture-based methods.

1. Workshops on CBL Methodology
   Faculty members need an in-depth understanding of CBL to implement it effectively. Workshops should include:
   • Introduction to CBL: Key concepts, framework, and practical steps for integrating challenges into the curriculum.
   • Guiding Without Lecturing: Training on facilitating student learning without traditional lectures and emphasizing peer-to-peer feedback.
   • Assessment Strategies: Developing new ways of assessing students based on their engagement, problem-solving, collaboration, and proactive learning.
2. Peer-Learning Sessions
   Regular meetings where faculty members share their experiences, challenges, and solutions in adopting CBL. These peer sessions could include:
   • Case studies of successfully implemented CBL courses.
   • Cross-discipline sharing on how CBL is applied in other technical fields.
   • Discussion on how to balance domain knowledge with technical problem-solving.
3. Hands-on Experience and Pilot Testing
   Faculty members could experience CBL from a student’s perspective by participating in a mini-CBL challenge. This could involve forming groups, defining a challenge, and collaboratively working on a solution to a problem within their own domain.
4. Feedback and Reflection Sessions
   After a semester or quarter, conduct reflection and feedback sessions to understand what worked and what needs improvement. Collect data on student performance, engagement, and learning outcomes for evaluation.

Teaching and learning materials

To support the CBL approach, the following materials can be developed:

1. Contextual Learning Materials
   • Short Videos: Explaining essential technical concepts and the broader context of the domain (e.g., videos introducing foundational computer science concepts in relation to real-world applications).
   • Domain Case Studies: Specific examples from the industry or research that illustrate how domain knowledge informs technical problem-solving.
2. Guided Problem-Framing Templates
   Since students must frame their own challenges, provide templates to help them:
   • Identify the core problem.
   • Explore the context and implications of the domain.
   • Outline what technical and non-technical knowledge they need to learn first.
3. Reflection and Feedback Tools
   • Reflection sheets for students to self-assess their understanding of the domain context before diving into the technical problem.
   • Peer-feedback guides for assessing group work and problem-solving approaches.
4. Facilitation and Guidance Documents for Teachers
   • Best practices for facilitating CBL projects, including a guide on when and how to intervene.
   • Rubrics for evaluating student challenges and the process of solving them, rather than only the final technical solution.

Sustainable implementation

For sustainable implementation, you’ll need to embed CBL into the university culture and provide ongoing support for teachers. This could include:

1. Long-term Faculty Support
   • Develop a CBL community of practice at TU/e where faculty can share resources, success stories, and challenges over time.
   • Create a mentorship program where experienced CBL facilitators guide new faculty members.
2. Institutionalizing CBL
   • Ensure that CBL becomes part of the core curriculum structure, not just an experimental method. This could be achieved by revising course designs to align with CBL principles.
   • Advocate for policies that recognize and reward faculty for implementing innovative teaching methods like CBL.
3. Student-Centric Tools
   Provide tools (e.g., learning management system modules) that students can use to manage their CBL challenges. This could include collaboration platforms, feedback loops, and resources for self-directed learning.
4. Continuous Review and Adaptation
   Implement a system for continuously reviewing the effectiveness of CBL courses through student feedback, faculty input, and learning outcome data. Adjust course content and teaching methods based on this feedback.

Expected impact of the CPD User Case

1. Improved Student Engagement and Autonomy
   Students will engage more deeply with the material because they see the relevance of domain context before tackling technical problems. Their increased ownership of the learning process will likely improve motivation and initiative.
2. Better Integration of Theory and Practice
   By forcing students to understand the domain before addressing technical issues, the CPD initiative is likely to foster better integration of theoretical knowledge and practical application.
3. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills
   Students will develop better problem-framing and problem-solving skills, which are essential in technical fields like computer science.
4. Department-Wide Adoption of CBL
   If successful, other faculty members will see the advantages of CBL, leading to wider adoption across the department and possibly other technical faculties.

Plans for eventual continuation of the CPD within the same topic

1. Scalability to Other Courses and Disciplines
   Once proven successful, the CPD initiative could be expanded to other courses within the computer science department and later to other disciplines within TU/e. This would require collaboration across departments to tailor CBL to specific domains.
2. Ongoing Professional Development
   • Offer advanced CPD workshops that delve into specific aspects of CBL, such as fostering student creativity, handling group dynamics, and addressing common pitfalls.
   • Encourage faculty to attend international CBL conferences or host symposia at TU/e to keep the momentum of CBL growing.
3. CBL Champions
   Appoint “CBL Champions” within each department who are responsible for continuously developing and improving CBL courses. These champions would also mentor other faculty members and share innovations.
4. Integration into Faculty Performance Metrics
   Reward faculty members who successfully implement and improve CBL through performance reviews, promotions, or teaching excellence awards. 

Developing confidence in sound course design, and learning facilitation (type P1-1, P1-3)