Guarding Code Originality and Motivating Student Engagement: In-class Simulated Microcontroller Assignments in a Stage 1 Robotics Module

Creator(s)

Anshu Mukherjee, Jiajing Li, Paul Cuffe

Organisation(s)

University College Dublin

Discipline(s)

Engineering, Information and Communication Technologies, Manufacturing and Construction

Topic(s)

Assessment & Feedback, Curriculum Design, Digital Learning

License

CC BY-SA

Media Format

PDF, PDF document

Date Submitted

Submitted by

Export Resource Data

Description

During the Spring trimester of 2024, in the UCD ‘Robotics Design Project’ (EEEN10020) module with 54 first-year undergraduate engineering students, we deliberately revised the assessment strategy. We evolved a take-home assignment into a pair of supervised in-class exercises.

Benefit of this resource and how to make the best use of it

Even before the emergence of Gen AI tools, there was ample reason to structure engineering coursework assignments in a more timetabled and actively-delivered fashion. Lightly-supported homework assignments with long timelines loom over a student’s trimester, more often a source of distraction and guilt than an opportunity for deep work and quality learning. University teachers play a powerful social role, and have the power to set timetables and impose expectations. Let’s use that for good. It has always a good idea to proactively and deliberately create assessments that get the best out of students. The emergence of powerful Gen AI tools is just another motivator: now at-home assessments can easily be plagiarized in an undetectable way, so it is very timely to reconsider how we support students in their continual assessment.

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)

This work is licensed under a CC BY-SA license, allowing adaptation and sharing with proper attribution, provided derivative works use the same license.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
? This citation is automatically generated and may not be perfectly formatted. Always check and adjust it according to your required citation style.
Mukherjee, A., Li, J., & Cuffe, P. (2025). Guarding code originality and motivating student engagement: in-class simulated microcontroller assignments in a stage 1 robotics module. National Resource Hub (Ireland). Retrieved from: https://hub.teachingandlearning.ie/resource/guarding-code-originality-and-motivating-student-engagement-in-class-simulated-microcontroller-assignments-in-a-stage-1-robotics-module/

Adapted this resource? Share your version!

If you have modified or adopted this resource, share your version here. Tracking adaptations helps us measure impact and connects others with useful updates.

Related OER

This open course is designed to facilitate the development of your Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy so that you can explore and innovate using Generative AI (GenAI) within your teaching, learning, and assessment practices.

In light of the potential opportunities and challenges of these technologies, this course will facilitate you in exploring the fundamentals of GenAI and AI Literacy, whilst focusing on an ethical practice. You will consider innovative ways in which you can respond to the challenges arising from the impact of these technologies in Higher Education.

Completion of this course will support you in developing a GenAI teaching strategy to apply to your own practice.

Report an Issue

Name