Experiences from Using Open-Ended and Life-Resembling Problems in a Master Course

Finding the optimum balance between theory and practice is one of the major challenges in higher education. A student-centered approach to learning is argued for by several educational researchers and practitioners, and deep learning could be accomplished by activating the students during the education. This paper reports on experiences learned from a course in Maintenance Data Management, which is thought on the first year of a master’s program in Industrial Asset Management, and in specific on how knowledge and skills in computerized maintenance management systems were trained. The course consisted of a series of lectures, laboratory sessions, exercises and seminars. In addition, two study visits and one guest lecture were arranged. In this paper one of the activities is described in more depth. The activity is an exercise in IT system selection, where the students are asked to define functional and non-functional criteria for the evaluation of systems alternatives, to find suitable candidates for evaluation and finally conduct an evaluation and discuss the results. This exercise exemplifies ways to create more open-ended and real-life resembling problems that activates the student in the learning situation, and that simultaneously gives the students possibilities for advanced reasoning and reflection. The detailed learning outcomes of the exercise are described using the CDIO syllabus, and benefits as well as success criteria are highlighted in the conclusion