Complete thesis - Murdoch University

(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(i)(j)(k)(l)Table 8.2: Engineers Australia graduate attributesGeneric AttributesAbility to apply knowledge of basic science and engineering fundamentalsAbility to communicate effectively, not only with engineers but alsowith the community at largeIn-depth technical competence in at least one engineering disciplineAbility to undertake problem identification, formulation and solutionAbility to utilise a systems approach to design and operational performanceAbility to function effectively as an individual and in multidisciplinaryand multi-cultural teams, with the capacity to be a leaderor manager as well as an effective team memberUnderstanding of the social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilitiesof the professional engineer, and the need for sustainabledevelopmentUnderstanding of the principles of sustainable design and developmentUnderstanding of professional and ethical responsibilities and commitmentto themExpectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning, and capacityto do soSE AttributesAble to apply project management techniques and software developmentmethodologies to deliver large scale software systems on time,within budget and to agreed performance specificationsAble to apply both procedural and O-O development paradigms toall phases of a software engineering projectAble to understand fundamental attributes and components of softwaresystemsThe curriculum map for the follow-on studio, ENG302 showed a much cleaner alignmentacross the dimensions. Peer- and self-assessment, assessment of reconceptualisations, demonstrationand presentations, portfolios and reflective journals addressed the learning moreconstructively. Struyven et al (2005) propose that the learner experience of evaluation andassessment determines the way in which the student approaches (future) learning. Whilethe experience of learning is diminished by assessment methods which are perceived to beinappropriate, alternative assessment was perceived to enable, rather than pollute, the qualityof learning achieved – studies (eg by Sambell et al (1997); Slater (1996) and Segers andDochy (2001)) found that student effort was channelled into understanding when alternativeassessment (including portfolios and peer- and self-assessment) was utilised.Data for the mapping were triangulated using document analysis of feedback from students,SE staff, focus groups and a (very few) interviews with past students. The data gleaned fromall of these activities were then used to map the unit to the generic graduate outcomes ofEngineers Australia (EA), as the accrediting body for the BE(SE) degree (Table 8.2 providesthe legend for Figure 8.9). From this point it was relatively easy to map between EA and347