UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Professor John Mitchell
Publications
- How Student Generated Peer-Assessment Rubrics use Affective Criteria to Evaluate Teamwork. K. Roach K, M.S. Smith, J. Marie, E. Tilley, J.E. Mitchell. SEFI 2017
- Engineering and Sustainability Education in Nigeria, U. Akeel, J.E. Mitchell, S. Bell. SEFI 2017
- Sense of achievement: Initial evaluation of an Integrated Engineering Design cornerstone module. E. Tilley, J.E. Mitchell. Integrated STEM Education Conference 2015.
- Work in progress: Multi-disciplinary curriculum review of engineering education. UCL's integrated engineering programme. S.Bains, J.E. Mitchell, A.Z. Nyamapfene, E. Tilley, EDUCON 2015
- Inclusion of teaching on self-awareness, diversity and reflection to support an engineering curriculum augmented with problem and scenario-based learning: A work in progress.
Mitchell, J.E., Tilley, E., Peters, J. (2014). IEEE EDUCOM 2014 - Teaching self-awareness, diversity and reflection to support an integrated engineering curriculum.
Mitchell, J.E., Tilley, E., Peters, J. (2014). HEA STEM Conference - Teaching self-awareness, diversity and reflection to support an integrated engineering curriculum augmented with problem and scenario-based learning.
Mitchell, J.E., Tilley, E., Peters, J. (2014). SEFI - "Assessment of Scenario-Based Learning", UCL CALT Symposium on Assessment for Learning. video presentation in iTunesU, April 2009
- Thomsen, B.C., Renaud, C.C., Savory, S.J., Romans, E.J., Mitrofanov, O., Rio, M., Day, S.E., Kenyon, A.J. and Mitchell, J.E. (2010) Introducing Scenario Based Learning: Experiences from an undergraduate electronic and electrical engineering course. IEEE EDUCON 2010:
- Mitchell, J.E. and Smith, J. and Kenyon, A.J. (2005) It’s not for lazy students like me…. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 42 (1). pp. 41-52
- Mitchell, J.E. and Smith, J. (2008) Case study of the introduction of problem-based learning in electronic engineering. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, 45 (2). pp. 131-143.
- Mitchell, J.E., Canavan, B. and Smith, J. (2009) Problem-based learning in communication systems: student perceptions and achievement. IEEE Transactions on Education , 53 (4) pp. 587-594
Teaching
I have been involved in a number of innovative teaching projects including the introduction of Problem-Based Learning and Scenario-Based Learning to the department.
I was involved in Problem Based Learning (PBL) a project, a student-centred technique that strives to thoroughly engage the student in the learning process. It operates by giving the students a set of problems which they must “solve” in groups. No direct instruction (lectures for example) was given, however much supporting material and resources were provided to aid the groups. In addition, facilitation sessions were arranged where member(s) of staff were available to answer questions and discuss the approaches that groups are applying to their problems. This technique is a radical change from traditional teaching, for both staff and students.
I took the lead role in the development of this new programme, along with a number of related activities spanning several years. The programme development included the design and implementation of a set of pilots to test the theories being introduced and required wide consultation with colleagues teaching-related courses. In addition it considered similar experiences worldwide and in the academic literature. A new assessment model was developed which involved a cycle of formative and summative evaluation to fit with the curriculum developed. The course began in the 2004/05 academic session and has proved to be highly successful in developing skills in the student cohort. I have also collaborated with other members of staff to help introduce supporting material in the first and second year of the programme. These courses were designed to be research-led by focusing on real-world industrial problems.
Although successful, this approach demonstrated that students would benefit from meeting such student centred approaches from the very start of their degree programme. Since 2008 I led a group in the department to implement a redesign of the first and second years of the undergraduate curriculum to strengthen problem solving and communications skills as well as to provide opportunities for interconnections between topics to be demonstrated. We have developed a series of scenario weeks (drawing on the excellent work in Civil Engineering, which cites the E&EE PBL course as inspiration), which use innovative learning and assessment techniques to encourage students to apply their knowledge in practical real-world applications.
I have been involved in the pilot programme to introduce podcasting into teaching at UCL, making use of this technology in my first year and postgraduate teaching as well as chairing this UCL user group on podcasting and more recently chairing the UCL Online Media Board that reported to Teaching and Learning Support Sub-Committee. The introduction of the UCL lecturecast system is a major innovation in the teaching at UCL, my experience and that of many others in the pilot is that this is particularly valued by international students as it gives them an opportunity to review and recap the lecture material at their own pace, where key concepts may have been lost during the normal course of a lecture.
In 2010 I won the UCL Provost's Teaching Award.
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