Project-based learning and unit integration

In the last edition of Illuminating Practice (Issue 06 – June 2010), Colin Thomson, a computing lecturer from the Creative Industries faculty, wrote a very interesting piece on the development work that he has been doing on a HN course to create a project-based learning experience for students which also integrates the content of two units.

Just to remind folk, the objectives of Colin’s development work with these units were:

- to make the combined units project-based
- to make the project very hands-on encourage skill of hand
- to encourage the students to do research
- to develop skills for analysing information and synthesising solutions
- to place the emphasis on the students learning rather than on the teaching
- to use real hardware rather than a virtual environment because real-world networks are made up from real computers not virtual computers.
- to make the units CfE ready.


What follows is a follow-up to that piece. In this post-script Colin outlines some of the tangible benefits of the approach while still making the crucial point that such developments require a significant commitment in terms of time and hard work.

There is also a link at the end of the piece to a phlog (which I had never even heard of when I came in this morning) which provides more thoughts (in audio) on this …

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Post-script to article in Illuminating Practice on Microsoft and Unit-Integration by Colin Thomson.


The outcome of unit integration and a project–based approach was that retention and achievement were greatly improved.

It was the case that for a number of the students the approach I used came as a culture shock, but most of them agreed by the end of the course that it was a better way of doing things because they got the hands-on experience and a substantial amount of practice in problem solving and troubleshooting.

They also grudgingly admitted that making them responsible for learning rather than passively sitting at their desks expecting me to pour Information from a PowerPoint into their ears meant that in the end they learnt a lot more. One student in the group who did both units last year the traditional way, failed and repeated them this year, came and told me that he found the way we did it this year a big improvement.

There was a knock-on to the Graded Unit. Because of the experience the students gained from the two integrated units they took to the Graded Unit like ducks to water, which has led to a substantial increase in the overall quality of the Graded Unit this year. This I admit was something I hadn't expected but with the benefit of hindsight makes perfect sense.

Had it not been for the fact that the HNC Networking is being dropped my next step would have been to integrate yet another unit to create a three-module, five-credit Window networking unit that broke down completely the artificial barriers between the Windows networking modules.

The proof of the pud is in the results. We lost a lot of students in the first semester from the August starts due to issues to do with staff sickness and lack of suitable cover, now resolved, so that the haemorrhaging of students from that group stopped. We retained virtually all of the January starts. All of the students that we kept achieved the units. The results from the Graded Unit are also greatly improved and I think all of the students will pass that too. I have a few more to mark.

I regret that I won't have the chance to integrate all three units and to push the process even further forward.

I think that CfE is nothing new, just a return to the way I was taught 50 years ago. Nonetheless it is the way forward and I would recommend the integrated, learner-centred, hands-on approach to anyone with the stamina to take it on, but on the understanding that appropriate support from management was forthcoming.

The phlog that I recorded for Scotland's Colleges is now beginning to attract some interest. It will be interesting to see what comments that brings in.

As a final note don't forget it was Debbie Meharg who first gave me the idea. Had she not done so, it might never have happened

Click here to go to Colin's phlog.