Abstract
The global movement of students, the linguistic and cultural diversity of university classrooms, and mounting concerns about retention and program completion have prompted the increased use of post-entry diagnostic assessment, which identifies students at risk and provides them with early academic support. In this chapter we report on a multistage-evaluation mixed methods study, now in its sixth year, which is evaluating the impact of a diagnostic assessment procedure on the first-year experience, student engagement, achievement, and retention in an undergraduate engineering program. The diagnostic assessment procedure and concomitant student support are analyzed through the lens of Activity Theory, which views socio-cultural object-oriented human activity as mediated through the use of tools, both symbolic (e.g., language) and material (e.g., computers, pens). Changes in Activity Systems and their interrelationships are of central interest. In this chapter we report on changes resulting from modifications to the diagnostic assessment procedure that have increased its impact on the first-year experience by: (1) applying a disciplinary (rather than generic) assessment approach which was fine grained enough to trigger actionable academic support; (2) embedding the diagnostic assessment procedure within a required first-year engineering course, which increased the numbers of students who voluntarily sought support; and (3) paying increased attention to the development of social connections, which play an important role in student retention and success.
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Notes
- 1.
English and French are official languages of Canada and serve as mediums of instruction in Canadian universities.
- 2.
Elsie MacGill was the first woman to receive an Electrical Engineering degree in Canada and the first woman aircraft designer in the world. She may be best known for her design of the Hawker Hurricane fighter airplanes during World War II. Many credit these small and flexible airplanes for the success of the Allies in the Battle of Britain. Students within the engineering program voted to name the Centre after Elsie MacGill.
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Fox, J., Haggerty, J., Artemeva, N. (2016). Mitigating Risk: The Impact of a Diagnostic Assessment Procedure on the First-Year Experience in Engineering. In: Read, J. (eds) Post-admission Language Assessment of University Students. English Language Education, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39192-2_3
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