Analysis and Reconfiguration of the EM106-Project and Technical Drawing for the Purpose of Second-Level Gifted Education

Goldberg and Somerville write of the "missed revolutions" that have had a massive impact on industry but have failed to translate to universities. The literature shows how alternative approaches can modernise curricula and improve motivation and trust, such as student-led design of course content. Aligning what is taught to students to improve their experience rather than performance is a method discussed by Obada as constructive alignment. This paper outlines the potential challenges facing engineering education, including a lack of motivation and trust between students and educators and the lack of development of communication skills in graduates. This research aims to use the EM106-Project and Technical Drawing, an undergraduate module at DCU, as a framework by which to test novel curriculum design and pedagogical methods. A modified version of the module will be delivered to second-level students taking part in a dual enrolment programme, with first-year undergraduate engineers taking the standard version of the module. Their experiences will be compared to understand the impact that changes have on student's views of engineering.