Internal research mission: innovative assessments and learning

The Center LEARN's internal mission team has collaborated closely with several departments—notably CAPE, CEDE, CCTC, and CEPRO—to ensure rigorous methodology, reliable data collection, and comprehensive analysis.

Supporting First-Year Success

The first project addressed the problem of high dropout rates in the first year, which particularly affects women and students with weaker mathematical foundations. Between 2021 and 2023, the interdisciplinary team implemented a series of interventions: flipped classrooms, extended-time examinations with fewer questions, and additional mathematics support measures including tutoring and preparatory materials.

The collaboration between the various centers—LEARN, CEPRO, and CAPE—enabled rigorous evaluation of these measures. The results demonstrate consistent improvement in examination grades without lowering academic standards, a significant reduction in the performance gap between genders, and a diminished impact of prior mathematical training. More importantly, students showed genuine "learning gains," achieving better results in subsequent courses.

This research suggests that the difficulties experienced by many students stem more from a lack of adequate time and support rather than from a deficit in abilities, challenging certain preconceived notions about academic failure.

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Optimizing the Use of Online Forums for First-Year Students

The second component focused on the use of online discussion forums (Piazza, Ed Discussion) specifically for first-year students in the context of post-pandemic hybrid teaching. The research team from LEARN and CEDE studied how to optimize these tools to promote engagement among first-year students and create more in-depth discussions during this crucial adaptation period.

Data analysis revealed that forum participation improves the academic performance of first-year students, with particular advantages for those who actively contribute rather than simply browse. The benefits are especially pronounced for female students and students with weaker mathematical foundations, suggesting that these platforms constitute valuable support tools for the most vulnerable student populations during their transition to higher education.

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The Challenge of Transversal Skills

The third and final component of this research addressed a fundamental issue in engineering education: the integration of transversal skills into the curriculum. These competencies—teamwork, communication, project management, ethical reflection—are essential for the transition to the professional world but often remain poorly visible in academic programs.

The collaborative analysis conducted by the LEARN team with its partners, CCTC and CAPE, revealed a significant gap between the skills planned in curricula, those actually taught, and those genuinely acquired by students. Surprisingly, students often developed undocumented competencies such as professional efficiency or information management, while certain officially targeted skills were not always mastered.

The developed solution relies on the portfolio approach, which invites students to regularly document and reflect on their learning process. This method has improved student self-efficacy, particularly in interpersonal communication and project planning, while making learning achievements more explicit. The study demonstrated that reflective exercises can effectively help students recognize and develop specific professional competencies acquired through project-based learning.

• Professional skills : learn more

• Mapping transversal skills: learn more

• Making learning explicit: learn more

• Transversal Skills and Portfolios: learn more

A Collaborative Approach to Pedagogical Innovation

This research illustrates the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in pedagogical innovation. By combining the expertise of the LEARN's internal mission team with that of CAPE, CEDE, CCTC, and CEPRO, the team was able to develop a robust methodological approach that identified concrete solutions to higher education challenges.

The results demonstrate that clear pedagogical alignment, appropriate reflective mechanisms, adapted assessment arrangements, and optimized use of digital tools can simultaneously improve academic success, educational equity, and transversal skills development while maintaining standards of academic excellence. This integrated approach offers promising perspectives for better preparing future engineers for the complex challenges of the modern professional world.