Analysing Errors Students Make in Summative Tests: A Case Study in Research-Led Engineering Education

摘要

This paper presents an example of engineering educational research as a means of improving the effectiveness of teaching through the identification of student challenges and the subsequent creation of educational strategies to mediate gaps and enhance student mastery of an engineering topic. Its specific focus is student assessment error analysis, an under-researched field in engineering education. The context of the study was a cohort of 133 students taking a reactor design module in a chemical engineering degree programme. The study demonstrates how insights gained from a stringent data analysis of student test errors combined with teaching reflections can inform pedagogical redesign of a course. It discusses the utility of the research methodology used and how it can be deployed as a strategy in research-led engineering education.