As a tutor you play the role of a manager in the R&D department of an oil & gas company. The company's ambition is to transform into a sustainable energy company. In order to ignite this transition, various teams (the student groups) in the company are asked to come up with innovative energy storage and transport initiatives. You are supervising four of such teams. Your main objective is to ensure that the teams understand their responsibilities and operate professionally. It is very important that you do not steer the teams toward a particular solution, as this affects their technical autonomy and may impede innovation.
The Energy Storage and Transport project is designed using the concept of constructive alignment. The goal of constructive alignment is to obtain a project in which the learning outcomes (A), the learning process (B), and the assessment (C), are in balance, as to achieve an optimal learning experience. As a tutor, especially in the context of challenge-based learning, you can have a strong influence on the learning experience. It is therefore important to also align your tutoring style with the project, being aware that different aspects of the project require different styles. The chart shown below illustrates the intended tutoring style for the various aspects of the course, which will be detailed in the remainder of this section.
The table below defines four tutoring styles, ranging from a style in which the tutor is very directive (I.), to a style in which the students are given a lot of freedom (IV.).
| I. | Directing | Give direct answers and/or show students how to proceed (Van Leeuwen & Janssen, 2019). |
| II. | Steering | Steer learning activities in the right direction, i.e., toward what is expected/acceptable in the context of the given assignment (Grasha, 1994). |
| III. | Probing | Ask questions to students such that they need to give more details about their approach toward a given task, without providing your own arguments/opinions (Grasha, 1994; Webb, 2009, Van Leeuwen & Janssen 2019). |
| IV. | Coaching | Act as a supporting coach by asking open-ended questions, providing feedback on the group progress and motivating students to try different ways of solving a problem (Gomez, Doulougeri & Bruns, 2022). |
A particular tutoring style can contain elements of the less directive styles. For example, when steering a group in a certain direction (II.), it is often required to probe the group with critical questions (III.). The other way around is not possible, however. That is, if you intend to only probe (III.) you should not steer (II.).
The various aspects in the project, as shown in the chart above, are categorized following the principle of constructive alignment. The description of the aspects below is partially based on CBL experiences at TU/e and at UT/ECIU.
This aspect of refers to the overall content and skills that students are expected to have mastered by the end of the project.
| A | In general | This project | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Challenge | The assignment given to the students/groups by the stakeholders. The challenge describe the context in which the students work, without indicating a precise solution. | The challenge is completely specified. The tutor monitors whether the group is aware of the challenge. | Probing |
| 2 | Solution | The range of possible end-points the students are allowed to reach in relation to the challenge. | The students are free in their choice of the energy storage and transport system. The tutor only interferes in the case of safety concerns. | Coaching |
| 3 | Methods | The range of (technical) approaches allowed to address the challenges in the project. | The students follow a combined (numerical) modeling and experimental approach, with alignment between these approaches being an import aspect. The tutor can ask critical questions to stimulate the group's thinking process. | Probing |
This aspect of refers to the activities (individually or in groups) that the students undertake to meet the learning objectives.
| B | In general | This project | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Individual learning activities | The learning activities such as lectures, self-study asssignments, technical trainings, etc. that help each student to acquire the knowledge to work on the challenge. | The groups have to master, amongst others, skills to work with Matlab and Simulink, develop a sensor system using Arduino, create a professional infographic, and perform a scenario exploration study. The tutor participates in group discussions to ensure that the required skills will be developed (at the right time). | Steering |
| 2 | Collaboration within the group | The way of working in the project groups, including group processes, roles, and agreements made. | The students work closely together during the self-guided group meetings. During their weekly tutor-supervised meeting they provide a comprehensive status update. | Coaching |
| 3 | Collaboration with stakeholders | The way in which stakeholders - which can be from academia, industry or society - are involved in the project. Students work on challenges developed at the university, and/or challenges provided by external stakeholders. | The Energy Storage and Transport challenge is developed at the university, with the teaching team being the principal challenge owner. In the context of the challenge, the tutor is the direct manager of the group. This creates a mutual responsibility between the tutor and the groups to keep each other informed. External stakeholders will be invited to the technical briefings at the end of the project. | Steering |
| 4 | Project management | The definition and scheduling of tasks and deliverables within the project, required to reach the solution. | The deliverables and timeline in the Energy Storage and Transport project are largely specified. The tutor safeguards that the groups follow these specificaitons. | Steering |
This aspect of refers to what will be evaluated (content, format and process) to ensure that the intended learning objectives are met.
| C | In general | This project | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Individual assessment | The aspects on which students will be evaluated individually, such as their role in the group, their ability to collaborate effectively, and the effectiveness with which they employ their technical skills. | The students and their tutor follow the standard ESA procedure for the individual assessment, which includes a formative midterm evaluation and a graded final evaluation. With only one tutor-supervised meeting per week, it is important that both the students and the tutor actively participate in the exchange of information required for the tutor to perform the evaluation. | Steering |
| 2 | Group assessment | The content-related aspects on which students are evaluated, for instance: the solution, the technical process adapted to reach the solution, the communication of results, etc. | The group assessment components are fully described, and, where applicable, it is mandatory for the groups to follow the provided template. The tutor safeguards that students do not deviate from the instructions. The tutor does not proof-read and/or review any of the group deliverables. | Directing |