Using story telling, drama, costume, poetry, music and performance art as part of engineering lectures

This case study has been developed as part of the Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Awards 2009, from data gathered through observations of the teaching component; interviews with the tutor; a questionnaire to students and a student focus group. The Professional Studies module is taken by around 230 first year students primarily from mechanical or manufacturing engineering. The sessions are timetabled weekly in a 2 hour block in a large tiered lecture theatre. The majority of the students enrolling on the degree programmes have come from a more traditional A Level background with over 35% international students. The tutor took over the module in 2001 and has developed the module over time, responding to increases in class sizes, for example from seminars to lectures, and an emphasis on Engineering in Society and Sustainability from the professional institution. The tutor chose to introduce the use of story telling, costumes, videos and props to make it more interesting for the students.