Bringing life to engineering: Biological engineering at the graduate level

Biological engineering will be important for the future application of advances in biology to solve problems facing humankind. The philosophical foundation for broad undergraduate biological engineering programmes has previously been given, but biological engineering graduate programmes, where specialization normally occurs, have remained undefined. While specialization will continue in these graduate programmes, efforts must be made to relate research and teaching results to: (1) the analogical systems approach; and (2) the derivation of biological information to produce new general engineering techniques. Finally, a set of graduate-level core courses is suggested.     

Cultural Factors in the Structure and Context of European Engineering Studies

Bilateral, trilateral and even quadrilateral exchange programmes are becoming increasingly common in European undergraduate and postgraduate engineering curricula. Such programmes provide students with opportunities to enrich their scientific, linguistic and cultural profiles. This paper examines and compares the cross-cultural differences within the teaching and learning contexts (not contents) of different engineering study programmes in France, Britain and Germany. The authors relate variations in key variables such as evaluation, teacher-student relationships, student autonomy, the scope of studies and motivation to Geert Hofstede‘s four dimensions of national culture’—Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Masculinity. The authors conclude that Hofstede's four dimensions do appear to have explanatory power, and suggest further directions for future research. It is the authors' intention that their research project ultimately be of benefit to engineering students taking part in exchange study programmes. The authors welcome any readers who wish to cooperate and collaborate with them in further research and development work.     

我国本科教学质量的研究热点、演化与前沿——基于CiteSpace的可视化分析

伴随"一流本科"建设步伐的加快,本科教学质量研究成为我国高等教育领域研究的重要主题。运用文献计量学方法,选取2009—2019年CNKI数据库,以"本科教学质量"为篇名进行文献检索,筛选得出2029篇有效文献。利用CiteSpace 5.6 R3软件进行可视化知识图谱分析。研究发现:(1)新建本科院校、实践教学、教学改革、人才培养、质量监控等关键词成为近10年来的热点;(2)我国本科教学质量研究脉络主要是以教学质量、质量工程、本科教学、应用型本科院校、教学评价等话题交织演进;(3)突发性检测揭示以应用型本科、国家标准、审核评估、保障体系、应用型本科院校为话题引领的研究前沿。文章分析指出,我国本科教学质量研究的多元交叉研究有待增强,影响机制研究有待深化,定量实证研究亟待推进。     

The role of mathematics learning centres in engineering education

Mathematics departments in many universities, in many countries, are under pressure. The demand for mathematics undergraduate programmes is diminish- ing and service mathematics is under threat. In particular, engineering schools are either reducing the number of mathematics courses in degree programmes or engineering staff are teaching mathematics as part of engineering analysis courses. There is also a strong trend in engineering education to make greater use of computer courseware like Mathcad, Matlab and other software systems for the mathematical and statistical components of engineering programmes. Engineer- ing education is undergoing substantial change. The mathematics of engineering programmes will need to change accordingly. Mathematics learning centres have been established in many universities world-wide. Initially their main role was to provide assistance for those who had insufficient levels of competency in pre- requisite mathematics. However, these centres can also make a very useful contribution to the latest trends in the mathematics education of engineering undergraduates. This paper will describe that contribution.     

A modern and interactive approach to learning engineering mathematics

The challenges facing those charged with teaching mathematics to engineers are enormous. Faced with large groups of students possessing a considerable range of abilities, prior experiences, and motivations, it is incumbent upon the developers and deliverers of mathematics programmes to engineers to ensure that such programmes are as inclusive as possible and take into account the particular and often individual needs of the student. Often a mathematics lecturer is caught between the demands of an engineering department expecting students to know and apply advanced techniques, and the needs of groups of students who lack confidence, have serious gaps in their knowledge and sometimes lack ability in mathematics. This paper describes an innovative approach to these challenges which involves a mix of traditional and modern technologies and which has been used with some effect at Loughborough University, for the teaching of mathematics to first year undergraduate engineering students.     

“基地班”本科生科研训练模式探索

科研训练作为高校培养创新型人才的有效途径,是目前实施本科教育教学质量工程,提高人才培养质量的重要环节。本文根据三峡大学的实际情况,探索以"基地班"(复合型人才培养实验班)建设为契机,把本科生科研训练融入课堂教学体系,进行理论与实践相结合的科研教学,指导和培养本科生的基本科研素养,以提升学生的创新素质,达到重新评估和改进现有的本科生教学和科研工作,切实提高本科生培养质量的目的。     

Courses for teaching leadership capacity in professional engineering degrees in Australia and Europe

Recently, many educational institutions across the globe have implemented engineering leadership programmes either as a part of a formal engineering curriculum or where leadership development is embedded into separate in-house programmes. This shows the clear intent of these educational institutions to prepare their engineering students for solving real-world problems, recognising that both technical and leadership skills are valuable for tomorrow's engineers. Leadership programmes in engineering education have been implemented in various formats with varying degrees of success. It has already been identified in research studies that 80–90% of engineering leadership programmes offered explicitly across the globe were based in the United States of America. However, in Europe and Australia, there is a noticeable lack of engineering leadership programmes, particularly in undergraduate curricula. The programmes that are offered across Australia and Europe have distinct design and delivery styles but there are certain key features that are common to most of the programmes, including professional partnerships, mentoring, engineering design and project-based approaches.     

Preparing student teachers to use computers in mathematics classrooms through a long-term pre-service course in Turkey

Recent studies have found short in-service teacher education programs are not providing adequate technology experiences to prepare their participants for teaching mathematics with computers. As an alternative to the short-term courses the author has been teaching a two-term mandatory undergraduate course within a mathematics teacher education program since 1995 to train student teachers and to investigate their perceptions on their preparation to use computers in their own teaching. This article describes issues that emerged from the analysis of this undergraduate course. Data were gathered through questionnaires and students' writings about the course activities. Findings indicated that computer literacy appeared to be an important key factor in utilising the course activities successfully. Students who felt prepared made the link between computer-based mathematical activities and school mathematics, and had more experience of using instructional software during the course than others. Findings of this nature can also assist teacher educators as they incorporate information technology into existing pre-service programs. The implications of these results for the designing and implementing of computer-based undergraduate courses and for further research in this field are discussed.     

Examining the impact of four teaching development programmes for engineering teaching assistants*

As current graduate instructors of labs and class discussions, teaching assistants (TAs) play a critical role in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) undergraduate education, especially as some graduate students may choose a faculty career in the future. Because of the importance of TAs and their development as scholars and instructors, we sought to determine the most effective methods of preparing engineering TAs at two research universities. We compare the impact of a teaching orientation with one of four teaching development programmes (Pedagogy Course, Advanced Practice Teaching, Workshop Attendance with Written Reflection, or Mid-Semester Student Feedback with Written Reflection) on engineering TAs’ teaching efficacy and definitions of active learning. Results indicated that the Pedagogy Course consistently increased TAs’ teaching efficacy and attitudes toward teaching compared with the other programmes. We also found that stand-alone Mid-Semester Student Feedback with Written Reflection enhanced TAs’ efficacy for reflection and beliefs about teaching. We discuss implications for providing teaching development for graduate students and directions for future research.     

Management Training of Engineering Students at the Indian Institute of Technology,Delhi

For an engineer to become an effective manager, he must have a basic concept about management principles and techniques. Some amount of management capacity can be developed in engineers by creating an awareness of the scope of management, imparting basic knowledge about management principles and identifying more closely with the management team. This paper describes the way in which the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi promotes engineering management training to its students. The training consists of introducing some management courses to undergraduate engineering students, conducting lectures and seminars related to management disciplines, encouraging students to do management related industrial projects and arranging vacation training programmes in industry. Moreover, a full M. Tech, programme in Systems and Management exclusively for engineering graduates is conducted. In addition, the paper discusses the other postgraduate and research programmes in management that the Institute conducts through its Management Centre.     

Student interests and undergraduate performance: the importance of student–course alignment

There has been a growing interest in the influences on undergraduate performance in recent years as a result of the increasing diversity of students entering third-level education and an ever increasing emphasis on the development of a robust knowledge economy. This paper investigates the influence of students’ dominant interest types and prior academic achievement on undergraduate performance in an Irish university. Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) interest inventory was completed by 308 students drawn from three, second year undergraduate programmes in engineering, nursing and teaching. The impact of dominant interest types and prior academic achievement on the performance of these students in their second year was then investigated using correlation and linear regression analyses. When combined, student interests and prior academic achievements were found to account for between 38% and 50% of the variance in undergraduate performance for students in these three undergraduate programmes.     

专业认证(评价)趋势下农科类本科教学管理的思考——以云南农业大学烟草专业为例

本科教学管理是本科教育中的重要环节之一。如何有效提高本科教育水平以及人才培养的质量,是每个专业面临的重要问题之一。近年来,英美等国将专业认证制度作为保证高等工程教育质量、实现工程教育水平和职业资格相互认可的重要措施,受到了越来越多的关注。我国的工程教育专业认证随之展开,已具有国际实质等效的工程教育专业认证。然而,农科类的专业认证还处于探索阶段。本文以工程教育专业认证的成果导向、以学生为中心、持续改进的理念为指导,从教学管理角度对农科类的专业建设、教学改革及人才培养提出几点意见。     

基于复杂工程问题的《液压与气压传动》课程项目教学探索

为提高本科生的复杂问题解决能力,文章结合《液压与气压传动》课程进行了实物项目教学探索,给出了实物项目的要求,分析了项目与课程的关系,展示了项目教学的成果,教学结果显示学生增强了对复杂工程问题的认识和解决能力。     

Identifying the Learning Needs in Mathematics of Entrants to Undergraduate Engineering Programmes in an English University

For some time lecturers in a number of UK and other European universities have suggested that some entrants to undergraduate programmes in engineering have lacked basic and necessary mathematical skills. There are now numerous reports that provide evidence supporting this suggestion. This paper describes the results of surveys of students' confidence in basic mathematics and the subsequent diagnostic testing of basic mathematical skills. These results have been used to identify learning needs and to develop ways in which students can be supported. In particular, it has been possible to select those topics that cause students the most concern. They also form the basis of a number of recommendations related to mathematics provision in undergraduate programmes in engineering.     

Shaping (reflexive) professional identities across an undergraduate degree programme: a longitudinal case study

In our complex and incongruous professional worlds, where there is no blueprint for dealing with unpredictable people and events, it is imperative that individuals develop reflexive approaches to professional identity building. Notwithstanding the importance of disciplinary knowledge and skills, higher education has a crucial role to play in guiding students to examine and mediate self in relation to context for effective decision-making and action. This paper reports on a small-scale longitudinal project that investigated the ways in which 10 undergraduate students over the course of a three-year Radiation Therapy degree shaped their professional identities. Theories of reflexivity and methods of discourse analysis are utilised to understand the ways in which individuals accounted for their professional identity projects at university. The findings suggest that, across time, the participants negotiated professional ‘becoming’ through four distinct kinds of reflexive modalities. These findings have implications for teaching strategies and curriculum design in undergraduate programmes.     

本科专业课交互式反馈触动VR教学系统构建——以航空航天本科专业课为例

航空航天类专业的限制使得本科学生缺少参与工程实践的机会,直接影响了专业课的教学效率。基于5G/VR技术,研究构建一种可在教师—模拟设备—学生间实现信息高效反馈触动的教学系统,该系统内置高保真虚拟实验条件与场景,可模拟多种复杂物理过程。通过结合理论知识的工程应用触动操作,学生可完成理论与实践相结合的深层认知学习。该系统的构建与应用可大幅提高学生的实践参与度、理论感知度和知识掌握度,对于实现本科教学改革、提升专业课教学效率具有重要意义。     

影响工科本科实验教学质量微观因素试析

工科本科实验教学是应用型工程技术人才培养体系的重要部分,不断提高实验教学质量是培养学生工程实践和创新能力的必要环节。文章以制药工程专业生物制药工艺实验课程为例,从教师因素、学生因素、考核制度和教学条件四方面对影响该专业本科实验教学质量的微观因素加以剖析,为进一步提升工科本科实验教学质量提供一些意见和建议。     

提高电气工程类本科毕业设计质量的研究与实践

毕业设计是大学生综合运用所学知识进行的最后一次教学实践环节,对培养学生工程实践素质和提高学生创新能力具有十分重要的作用。从选题因素、学生自身因素、教学资源和网络资源有效利用等方面分析了电气工程类本科毕业设计的现状和不足。最后从优化选题、建立创新和激励机制、强化过程管理及完善质量监控与评价体系等方面提出了相应的改进措施和方法。这些措施和方法能切实有效地提高电气工程类本科毕业设计的质量和层次,对培养创新型、复合型电气工程类应用人才有借鉴意义。     

工科研究型学院创新型人才培养的探索与实践

培养高素质创新人才是高等教育的重要任务。本文以燕山大学材料科学与工程学院为例,介绍了研究型学院为培养创新型人才在师资与科研、教学改革实践、实验与实践教学基地、教学管理工作等方面的基础建设情况,并着重在改进课程设置、完善知识结构、实践能力培养、开拓学生视野、科研与教学互动、实施本科生导师制等方面进行了一系列的研究与实践,为探索工科研究型学院创新型人才培养模式提供了新思路。