Practice of Self-Study for Outcome Based Education: A Case Study

Abstract

Self-study is realized as a tool for lifelong learning. In order to improve the professional skills of budding engineer, self-study is a component of teaching learning process which helps teacher to monitors the materialization of student activity. The skills that can largely be developed by self-study are communication, critical thinking and practicing modern tools. Activities assigned to the students are (1) Assigning literature to read and apply in their laboratory experimental understanding, (2) read, comprehend and understand the advances in the corresponding field, (3) to demonstrate the concepts taught in class by an experiment (4) get trained and use modern tools for problem solving. The attainments of specific outcomes defined by NBA are designed in such way that it brings desirable change in the student way of learning. Self-study aids the process by measuring various technical and non-technical learning outcomes of student learning. It provides opportunities for students to learn or refine their knowledge of technical concepts traditionally taught in a classroom as well as concepts that are difficult to teach in a classroom setting. Further, it reveals the combination of both teacher-centered and student-centered teaching methods which involves student’s activity, gaining and sharing knowledge among the peers. This paper discusses the design, development, implementation of self-study module in the core course of heat transfer in one of the engineering curriculum of BMSCE. It encompasses in-detail discussion on framing of course outcomes, evaluation of different self-study component with rubrics, mapping of CO to PO, improved program outcomes attainment obtained for two consecutive student batches compared with traditional course. The method utilizes data obtained from student marks in internal tests as a means of continuous internal evaluation. This paper discuss the mode of evaluation of selfstudy component, and reasons for the enhanced attainment of CO, PO and hence PSO. The practice of self-study will pave a framework for encompassing cognitive and psychomotor learning outcomes of engineering curriculum.