Creating Teaching Materials For International Students

Abstract

The problem of teaching an engineering discipline to non-native speakers is challenging and it requires the combination of active teaching methods. The authors determine the course content based on state-of-the-art reference sources and developments of the Electrical Engineering Department for students trained as part of academic exchange. The paper deals with creating teaching materials of a technical discipline for international students as illustrated by the Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems course. The paper describes methods and forms of training process, including active ones. We made an attempt to summarize the world experience of using active teaching methods to create the methodological materials for a new course to be delivered to international students. When creating a new course, we used our own experience of delivering a similar course supported in Moodle. Activity-targeted technologies can be an effective way for students to solve practical tasks of operational management in the electric power industry. Learner-centered technologies improve students' abilities to handle stress and assume responsibility in professional choice situations. The experience of creating the teaching materials for the course Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems for international students shows that active methods of teaching professional engineering disciplines are indispensable for successful professional training and overcoming the language barrier. Students can apply the knowledge and skills acquired not only in business games but also in their professional activities.

Keywords: International StudentsBusiness GameSkillsCourse Learning OutcomesTraining Technologies

1.Introduction

Many authors have discussed the problem of the quality of education in general and engineering

and technical one in particular, also by active teaching methods, e.g.: (Achim, Popescu, Kadar, &

Muntean, 2013), (Angelova Stefanova, 2014), (Azeiteiro, Bacelar-Nicolau, Caetano, & Caeiro, 2015),

(Blin, & Munro, 2008), (Zaripova, Shaidullina, Upshinskaya, Sayfutdinova, & Drovnikov, 2014).

A. A. Verbitskiy emphasizes that the strategic aim of university educators is not to increase the

volume of information to be delivered or "archive" it or accelerate the perception processes, but, rather, to

create the didactic and psychological conditions of meaningful learning, involving the student at the level

of not only the intellectual activity but also personal and social one (Verbitskiy, 2011).

Authors also understand that the problem of teaching an engineering discipline to non-native

speakers is challenging and it requires the combination of such teaching methods that would allow a

student to concentrate on the content of the exercises rather than on their form (Hercika, Milkovab, & El-

Hmoudovab, 2015). At the same time, an engineering course with an abundance of textual information

may be difficult for students to master (Hamoudaa, & Tarlochan, 2015). Authors need to arrange the

teaching system in a special way, so that extensive textual information in a non-native language would

not stifle the training process for the students. E-learning is worth paying attention to as well. Flexibility

and convenience offered by modern methods of e-learning were among the major factors of their

worldwide popularity (Tîrziua, & Vrabieb, 2015).

Authors made an attempt to summarize the world experience of using active teaching methods to

create the methodological materials for a new course to be delivered to international students at the

Department of Power Grids and Electrical Engineering. In addition, when creating a new course, we used

our own experience of delivering the similar course, Operational Management in Power Engineering

(Khrushchev, Batseva, Fix, Chesnokova, & Khar’kovskaya, 2015), (Fix, Kolesnikov, & Petrova, 2015),

(Batseva, Fix, Pankratov, Troshchinskiy, & Petrova, 2016), (Batseva, Fix, Mitrofanov, & Petrova, 2016)

supported in Moodle learning management system.

2.Problem Statement

Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems is the course that belongs to the master training

program Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering (specialization: Design and Control of

Smart Power Systems). The discipline is one of the major subjects and has an independent value. So far,

it only includes the teaching package and its support in the Moodle learning management system is under

construction.

This course has the following objectives: training students in knowledge of technical processes,

circuits, power engineering equipment, understanding of technical processes, knowledge of operational

code for electrical installations, knowledge of electrical safety rules, obtaining skills of power

management of power networks.

It deals with the key functions of operational dispatch management as well as the economic factors

of electric power generation and transmission. It also discusses the main factors of safety and reliability in

both normal and emergency operating conditions as well as the system operators training for emergency

events.

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In order to successfully master the discipline, students need to know the following: fundamentals

of power generation; consumption and Smart Grids; schemes and equipment of electric power stations

and substations; schemes of power systems and networks. They also need to be able to use the methods of

analysis, modelling and calculation of the modes for a complex power supply system.

Students taking this course should have some background in power systems or very good

backgrounds in electric circuits.

In a priority these disciplines required the Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems course

(prerequisites):

Computer, networking and information technologies;

Additional chapters of mathematics (numerical methods);

Philosophical and methodological aspects of science and technology.

The content of the Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems course is consistent with

disciplines studied in parallel (co requisites):

Designing of electrical power systems and networks;

Methods of stability calculation;

Flexible AC transmission systems;

Emergency control of power systems.

The syllabus is developed in compliance with the Primary Curriculum Standard of Tomsk

Polytechnic University and meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for the

specialization of Design and Control of Smart Power Systems.

3.Research Questions

The paper deals with creating teaching materials of a technical discipline for international students

as illustrated by the Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems course. The paper describes

methods and forms of training process, including active ones. We made an attempt to summarize the

world experience of using active teaching methods to create the methodological materials for a new

course to be delivered to international students.

4.Purpose of the Study

When creating a new course, we used our own experience of delivering a similar course supported

in Moodle. Activity-targeted technologies (game simulation of technological processes) can be an

effective way for students to solve practical tasks of operational management in the electric power

industry. Learner-centered technologies (interactive and imitation games) improve students' abilities to

handle stress and assume responsibility in professional choice situations, e.g., when tackling the

challenges of operational dispatch management. The experience of creating teaching materials for the

course Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems for international students shows that active

47

methods of teaching professional engineering disciplines are indispensable for successful professional

training and overcoming the language barrier.

5.Research Methods

The following research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, classification, systematization and

generalization of facts and information, comparisons, testing, questioning, observation, description,

design, modeling, pedagogical experiment

6.Findings

7.Conclusion

The experience of creating the teaching materials for the course Dispatching Control of Electrical

Power Systems for international students shows that active methods of teaching professional engineering

disciplines are indispensable for successful professional training and overcoming the language barrier.

The system approach to teaching specialty courses makes it possible to present the learning

materials in different ways, combine various teaching technologies, control the quality of training, use the

individual approach and manage independent work of students.

Using brain-targeted technologies, such as dialog-based teaching methods, discussion seminars,

problem-based learning, cognitive instruction facilitates teaching engineering disciplines and developing

professional competences in each discipline.

For instance, after completing the course Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems,

students must achieve the following results (planned course learning outcomes):

Knowledge of technical processes, circuits, power engineering equipment, understanding of

technical processes, knowledge of operational code for electrical installations, knowledge of

electrical safety rules, obtaining skills of power management of electrical power network.

Being able to solve the problems associated with power system optimization as applied to all

the stages of energy production, decision making, long-term and short-term planning,

performance updating, and real-time control.

To form professional competences and learning motivation, we suggest using business games as

an active teaching technique, which is an efficient tool to prepare students for future professional activity.

Business games, as a tool for simulating various aspects of professional environment and real industrial

processes, allow training students to apply the obtained theoretical knowledge and solve problems

emerging in their professional activity.

Activity-targeted technologies (the methods of projects and guiding texts, context teaching,

organization and assignment games, technological maps, complex tasks, and game simulation of

technological processes) can be an effective way for students to solve practical tasks of operational

management in the electric power industry.

Learner-centered technologies (interactive and imitation games) improve students' abilities to

handle stress and assume responsibility in professional choice situations, e.g., when tackling the

challenges of operational dispatch management, which do not only require these qualities from a

dispatcher but also high reaction rate.

Preliminary results showed in a more productive teaching process arrangement. In the future, we

plan to improve the methodological materials for the Dispatching Control of Electrical Power Systems

discipline, to use Moodle learning management system for presenting the learning materials in the

multimedia form and for knowledge assessment by means of tests and to create new business games.

Students can apply the knowledge and skills acquired not only in business games but also in their

professional activities.

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