Abstract
The chapter is devoted to the development of an analytical methodology of forming future engineers' meta-competences (interdisciplinary, meta-creative, and meta-cognitive) when he/she works on unique scientific equipment. The authors research a hypothesis about the possibility of estimating quality of education and identifying competences in engineering courses by measurement of students' activities as well as outcomes. An example is described of the criterion revealing during laboratory work with a scanning probe microscope “Nanoeducator.” The experiment is a part of a multifunctional scientific complex for the development and research of thin films. Results of the parameter evaluation are shown in graphs using MATLAB software. This chapter is a new direction towards discovering methods and algorithms to define and evaluate future engineers' meta-competence.
TopUnique Scientific Equipment’S Description
The Educational-scientific complex based on scanning probe microscope “Nanoeducator” is a part of a Multifunctional complex for the development and research of the thin film’s parameters. It was named as the USE and placed at the Ryazan state radio engineering University for other Universities scientific research as well. The complex of scientific equipment has no analogues in the Russian Federation, it is functioning as a single entity and established the scientific and educational organization in order to obtain scientific results, the achievement of which is not possible when using other equipment (Russian Federation Law No. 270-FZ dated 13.07.2015).
The USE includes equipment adapted to research the grown nanoscale films and layers in the educational environment, Nano laboratory probe microscopy with the same name “Nanoeducator”. During the experiment’s preparation students use the theoretical materials and methodological instructions which are posted at the website of equipment’s developer, the NT-MDT company (www.ntmdt.ru), they use also the methodical materials created by the Regional Centre of Probe Microscopy for the collective usage by other Universities (hereinafter - RCU). The common scheme of the scanning probe microscope includes two subsystems: atomic force microscope and a computer with software that implements the management interface experiment. It is presented at the author’s paper published in Russian (Malakhov A., 2016).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Automatic Competence Evaluation: Competence evaluation with the support of special computer algorithms.
Student’s Meta-Competence: Interdisciplinary, meta-cognitive and meta-creative components of the competences that student could obtain during the practical work with the unique scientific equipment.
Indicator on Meta-Subject (Interdisciplinary) Student Competences: A fragment of cognitive map, created during tests at the stage of theoretical preparation.
Indicator on Meta-Creative Student Competence: Creative students offer options to improve the operation of the device.
Competence Evaluation: Quantitative or qualitative indicators of quality of knowledge, abilities, skills of students.
Educational-Scientific Complex: Complex includes hardware, software equipment and a set of theoretical and methodical materials.
Indicator on Student’s Meta-Cognitive Competence: An absence of operation’s return or more detailed the number of repetitions, done by student.