Teaching Methods

Description and learning objectives

In the teaching of engineering courses, the development of modelling skills plays an important role. According to this methodology, these skills are developed through the use of software applications.

Students are guided in building models of increasing complexity, developed according to an iterative methodology that is also acquired during the course. They work systematically, either individually or in small groups – encouraging critical analysis and discussion – starting from specifications provided by the lecturer.

Teaching therefore has an explicitly experimental approach: software applications allow students to simulate the behaviour of the modelled reality, such as dynamic systems or social networks, and to refine its representation through scenario and sensitivity analysis. Students’ use of software supports learning through a trial-and-error approach.

Courses adopting this methodology

• Design for Dynamic Systems
• Social Network Analysis

Description and learning objectives

The flipped classroom is an innovative teaching method that reverses the logic of the traditional lecture. In a traditional lecture, the lecturer explains concepts in class and then asks students to practise at home. In this new approach, students receive study materials in digital format – videos, tests and written materials – before the lesson, and then carry out exercises in class with the lecturer’s support.

Before the lesson, students access the course virtual classroom, where they find the teaching materials. During the lesson, the lecturer checks students’ understanding of the shared content and then organises them into groups. These groups discuss the projects assigned by the lecturer and propose a solution. This is followed by peer evaluation of the different group solutions, coordinated and assessed by the lecturer.

In this way, students – with the lecturer’s support – experience not only the course content but also the role of evaluator, helping them refine their learning skills.

Courses adopting this methodology

• Organization and Information Systems

Description and learning objectives

This teaching method uses role-play: students, typically working in small groups, are asked to develop product or process innovation projects, taking on the role of entrepreneur, senior manager or designer.

Interaction with company testimonials helps students understand the critical aspects of the project or allows them to gather functional specifications directly from professionals and managers working in innovation.

During the course, lecturers present models and techniques that students immediately apply to the specific project context, supporting their development through continuous feedback on the progress of the work.

A few examples:

In the Industrial Design course, each year a company opens the course by presenting in class one of its products that it wishes to innovate. The company then supports students in addressing the critical issues that emerge during project development and takes part in the students’ final presentation. Three of the products developed by students in this course were subsequently patented by the commissioning companies.

In the IoT Systems Design and Development course, students use Design Thinking to develop working prototypes, created by integrating information and communication technologies that are presented and explained during the lessons.

Courses adopting this methodology

• Internet-of-Things (IoT) Systems
• Machine Learning for Digital Business

Description and learning objectives

Experiential learning is recognised in the literature as a methodology that, based on the principle “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”, ensures effective education. Learning factories apply the principle of experiential learning within a simulated factory environment. Simulating a production environment allows students to directly experience, in a risk-free context, the effects produced by each decision or behaviour.

Receiving immediate feedback on the quality of decisions and behaviours stimulates curiosity and discovery-based learning, encouraging participants to take an active role and interact.

The practical application takes place within a simulated, yet realistic, factory for assembling and disassembling table football tables. The many components of the table football table, which vary in volume and weight, make the activities carried out inside the factory realistic and bring students closer to the complexity of production processes.

Courses adopting this methodology

• Descriptive Analytics for Operational Excellence
• Lean Production
• Lean Manufacturing
• Production Systems
• Smart Factory

Description and learning objectives

The main objective of this methodology is to create an environment that complements – but does not replace – the classroom where in-person lessons take place. Within this environment, students interact with one another and with lecturers, creating and exchanging content that goes far beyond the mere distribution of teaching materials.

In this way, students receive continuous stimulus outside class hours to discuss and explore the topics covered in the courses, including through mutual exchange. Lecturers can also monitor students’ level of understanding of the course content, so that they can intervene promptly both during in-person lessons and within the virtual classroom.

The tool used to implement this methodology is an online platform – a course website with restricted access for registered students and lecturers – equipped with a wide range of features that together make it possible to create a virtual classroom: an online environment with an interface similar to social networking platforms.

Courses adopting this methodology

• Business Process Transformation

Labs and Projects

BOX

• i-FAB – The lean and Industry 4.0 model factory https://en.liuc.it/courses-of-study/teaching/i-fab-laboratory/
• https://en.liuc.it/courses-of-study/teaching/c-lab/