International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education

COVID-19 deeply changed traditional teaching, forcing the adoption of emergency remote teaching (ERT). ERT provided flexibility to teaching/learning activities (TLAs) yet affecting face-to-face communication and sociality. In this work, we present specific constructive alignment for an ERT/extended classroom course at Politecnico di Milano, as well as the tools involved. Two tutorials introduced the learners to the final essay, encouraged collaborative discussion, and promoted self-learning. The final essay, to be done individually or by joining a group, was part of the evaluation alongside a written exam. An evaluation rubric was shared when launching the topics of the essay, and setting the evaluation criteria. Results show how almost half of the essays were delivered by learners working alone, despite the attempts to promote collaborative interaction. Additionally, synchronous class attendance was only 55%, attributed to the availability of recordings and slides. Among the unattended results, the learners positively perceived TLAs and generated new collective knowledge, which was shared on the research group's Instagram profile.

Teaching in higher education is a very demanding task, as students have easy access to information through a computer or mobile device, and nothing seems to surprise them. One of the main concerns of Mechanical Engineering professors is the transmission of the best general competencies and scientific knowledge, and the development of skills that will be very useful in their future professional life in a global employment market. In this way, teachers must continually innovate to motivate students and catch their attention, adopting new teaching methodologies, such as active learning. The main objectives of this teaching methodology are: to provide advanced knowledge in engineering; resolve of engineering problems; experimentation and knowledge discovering and, improvement of soft skills. This paper describes a project entitled “Production of a ceramic component,” included in the Curricular Unit of Non-Metallic Materials, proposed to the students of the third year, the first semester of a Mechanical Engineering course. Each group is assigned a ceramic component and is asked to research and prepare an oral presentation and a poster where they describe all the stages of the manufacturing process. They must consider component requirements, and the scientific and technical details of its production from materials selection to its sale. To carry out this assignment, students must review their basic knowledge of materials science, technical drawing, and materials and manufacture of ceramic components (subjects previously taught in different courses), and search in databases of material properties. Although this assignment is very challenging and time-consuming, students report in informal conversations promoted by teachers that they enjoy it and feel very motivated. They consider that this type of work better prepares them for their future professional life, by improving their soft skills.

Project- or discovery-based learning activities promote curiosity, enjoyment, and interest deriving from the stimulating context in which students operate. Providing a concrete contextualization of laboratory activities could improve student motivation and learning outcomes. In this contribution, a case study related to a workshop on laboratory activities proposed for Engineering Master students is presented, and designed with the aim of developing practical competencies, increasing problem-solving skills, and providing design abilities. Using the facilities available in the Measurements and Control Laboratory, the students, starting from concept knowledge acquired in basic subjects, such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Electronics, design and implement their experiments, gaining a deeper understanding of core disciplinary concepts while strengthening soft and teamwork skills. The challenges and possibilities of these self-directed thinking and learning laboratory activities are also discussed.

This paper analyses the research and teaching performance of the teaching staff of the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). Performance in the two strands of professional activity is measured by the number of publications authored by the individuals and their impact on the scientific community, and by the marks receive from the students through pedagogic questionnaires (PQs). The teaching staff includes all permanent elements involved in MIEM curricular units (CU), with the exception of those teaching just the CU Dissertation. The set has 74 professionals, with 62 from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The staff bibliographic data are public and were collected from the Scopus database at the end of September, 2021. The PQs data are classified and were provided to the cycle of studies Board by FEUP” Sigarra administrative office. Data for all CUs were considered, with the exception of Dissertation, in a per semester basis, for the period 2016–2017 up to 2020–2021. The methodology consists of (i) processing and analyzing, separately, the datasets collected from Scopus and Sigarra to obtain statistical figures characterizing both areas of activity, and (ii) testing the research and teaching information to find out whether or not those data are correlated. The results show that the MIEM teaching staff has good publication rating, with (i) group h-index 117, (ii) 4 publications per capita in 2020, (iii) 23% owing more than 100 and 9% more than 200 works published, (iv) 22% having more than 1500 and 11% more than 3000 citations, and (iv) 19% holding h-index greater than 24 and 7% greater than 40. However, the distributions of research indicators are uneven, with (i) 50% of the staff contributing merely with 10% of the publications, (ii) 41% having less than 300 citations, and (iii) 43% holding h-index below 10. With respect to teaching, the MIEM staff is highly appreciated by the students. The average score over the period 2016–2020 is close to 5.3 points out of 7, with 19% receiving more than 6.0 and 51% more than 5.3. The scores are evenly distributed, with just 4% individuals rated below 4.0. Finally, it was found that the research and teaching data are not correlated (Pearson correlation coefficient less than 0.1), which strengthens the idea that all elements of the teaching staff can potentially be good on both components of activity, possibly, just needing appropriate stimuli and recognition.